Missing Denver hiker found dead near Lake City

(Alpine Loop)

A 26-year old experienced hiker from Denver was found dead after an extensive search in the San Juan Mountains. Ben Brownlee was reported as missing last Sunday after he failed to return from a hike near Lake City. He was last seen by other hikers as he was coming back down off Unnamed Peak, a 13,832-foot mountain on Saturday.

According to the Hinsdale Sheriff’s Office, searchers began looking for Brownlee on Monday morning. They did find his car at the trailhead of Redcloud and Sunshine peaks. Crews in the air and on the ground searched in areas where they believed the man was hiking and found nothing.

On Tuesday, Brownlee’s family chartered a helicopter and family members and friends joined the authorities to search the area again. At about 5:00 p.m., friends spotted Brownlee’s body about 75-to 100-feet below a steep rocky ridge southeast of Cooper Creek Peak. The ridge runs between Cooper Creek Trail and Silver Creek Trail off of County Road 30, southwest of Lake City along the Alpine Loop.