CPW officers recover body in Skaguay Reservoir SWA in Teller County
Bill VogrinSoutheast Region Public Information Officer
719-466-3927 / [email protected] CPW Officers recover body from Skaguay Reservoir SWA in Teller County
June 4, 2024
CPW officers recover body from Skaguay Reservoir SWA in Teller County
VICTOR, Colo. – Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers recovered a body from the water at Skaguay Reservoir State Wildlife Area in remote Teller County on Tuesday and turned it over to the Teller County Coroner’s office.
The coroner will identify the victim, make an official determination of the cause of death and notify the victim’s relatives.
CPW initiated a search for a missing person on Saturday, May 25, at the request of the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO), after that agency was notified of a missing 76-year-old Cañon City man.
The man was last seen Thursday, May 23, and was believed to have gone fishing. CPW was called after his vehicle and boat trailer were found at Skaguay.
CPW officers conducted a land and water search at Skaguay, a 715-acre SWA located about 5 miles southeast of Victor in Teller County at about 9,000 feet elevation. The centerpiece of the wildlife area is a 114-acre reservoir, built on West Beaver Creek in 1899.
A boat and life jacket were found drifting on the water, which was a frigid 52 degrees. But daily searches of the water were unsuccessful.
CPW called in its Marine Evidence Recovery Team (MERT), which is skilled in underwater recovery, and searched off and on for nearly two weeks before suspending the search. Heavy vegetation on the bottom of the reservoir, which is about 40 feet deep, was blamed for obscuring Sonar imaging.
“CPW offers its condolences to the family and friends of this victim,” said Sean Shepherd, CPW’s Area Wildlife Manager for the wildlife area. “We are glad our team was able to assist our partner agencies in Fremont and Teller counties and hopefully bring some peace of mind to the victim’s family.”
CPW will have no further comment on the case beyond this news release.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is an enterprise agency, relying primarily on license sales, state parks fees and registration fees to support its operations, including: 43 state parks and more than 350 wildlife areas covering approximately 900,000 acres, management of fishing and hunting, wildlife watching, camping, motorized and non-motorized trails, boating and outdoor education. CPW's work contributes approximately $6 billion in total economic impact annually throughout Colorado.