Boulder County, Colo. - On June 24, shortly after 7:00 p.m. the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office was notified of two hikers who were stranded near the summit of South Boulder Peak, a City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks property, during a thunderstorm.

Search and rescue crews were dispatched to assist the stranded hikers. The 19-year-old female hiker indicated that the rocks near the summit were slippery from the rain and they were having trouble going down the summit. During their descent, the female hiker sustained serious, but non-life-threating injuries after falling. The 23-year-old male hiker attempted to come to the aid of the female hiker and unfortunately, while trying to reach his hiking companion, fell approximately 30 feet and sustained a life-threatening head injury.

Search and rescue crews arrived on-scene and made their way on foot and via a Flight for Life Colorado helicopter. The helicopter managed to find a small clearing where they were able to land near the hikers. Search and rescue crews conducted a technical litter rescue of the male to the helicopter, and he was flown to a local hospital. The female hiker was then evacuated via a technical litter as well and was also flown to a local hospital via the helicopter when it returned. Unfortunately, the male hike later died at the hospital due to the injuries he sustained during the fall.

The entire rescue took search and rescue crews approximately 10 hours to complete. The following agencies assisted with this incident: Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, Rocky Mountain Fire, Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, Flight for Life Colorado, and City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks.

The associated Boulder County Sheriff’s Office case number is: 20-2759.

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/s/ Carrie Haverfield, Public Information Specialist