The Summit County Sheriff’s Office opened an investigation after a man’s body was found in a field west of the Summit Cove neighborhood on Saturday, April 27.
The man was identified as Fernando Ruiz Hernandez, 27, of Dillon, several days later. The cause and manner of death are pending the results of an autopsy.
Hernandez’s body was discovered by a local hiker near a neighborhood trail, according to the Summit County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office has stated that a preliminary investigation found no obvious indications of foul play.
On Wednesday, May 1, the Sheriff’s Office wrote in a statement that it has ended its on-scene investigation near Summit Cove. But residents and visitors in the area are urged to report any property or suspicious items they discover in the area to Sgt. Mark Gafari at 970-423-8960, according to the statement.
Detectives are looking in particular for a medium black backpack, a black Dell Alienware Laptop computer with red trim and black, size-nine shoes with black laces.
— Robert Tann
It was around a year ago when Shepherd Tharp made one of his regular stops to grab a coffee from the shop where he landed his first job, Abbey’s Coffee in Frisco.
His family has longstanding ties to the establishment. His grandfather, Vince Tharp, was the veterinarian for the shop’s namesake, Abbey, which was the owner’s dog. Two of his younger siblings also landed their first jobs at the shop.
When checking in and chatting with the owners, Suzie and Dave VerSchure, Shepherd casually mentioned that he would be willing to buy Abbey’s Coffee when the time came to sell. He didn’t think much of throwing this offer on the table and figured it could be years before they took him up on it.
He was surprised two days later when Suzie called him and said the place was his if he wanted it.
On March 29, the 21-year-old became a part owner of Abbey’s Coffee. His 19-year-old brother, Silas, decided to leave his career in property management to become a business partner and co-owner.
— Kit Geary
A semitrailer went up in a blaze after its brakes caught fire and it went charging up a runaway truck ramp on Interstate 70 west of the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels on Tuesday, April 30.
Charlie Stubblefield, the owner of the Silverthorne-based towing company Mountain Recovery, said no one was hurt in the incident but that the wreck was one of the most destructive he’s seen on the Straight Creek runaway truck ramp.
“We’ve never seen one that goes that far up the ramp and burns to the ground,” Stubblefield said. “That’s a first — where it’s been that massive of destruction.”
The Straight Creek runaway truck ramp is among the most used runaway truck ramps in the country due to the steep grades as I-70 descends from where the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels cross under the Continental Divide.
— Ryan Spencer
The Breckenridge Police Department is asking for the public’s help to identify two people after multiple pieces of jewelry were stolen from a Breckenridge shop over the weekend.
Police say they believe a man and a woman worked together to steal the jewelry from Jewels on Main Street on Saturday, April 27, around 5 p.m., according to a news release.
The man had a beard, short brown hair, a blue baseball hat, black jacket, blue jeans and black dress shoes, the report states.
Anyone with information about the identity of the suspects should contact the Breckenridge Police Department at 970-668-8600 referencing case number 2024-03913.
— Staff Report
A snowshoer fell off a cornice and slid roughly 900 feet after becoming disoriented during a white-out storm on Sunday, April 28, on Bald Mountain, according to a Colorado Avalanche Information Center field report.
He reportedly triggered a D1 storm slab avalanche, the smallest on a five-point scale, while attempting to climb back out, so he called 911, which initiated a search and rescue response. While trying to traverse to another ridge, a second avalanche was triggered but he wasn’t carried with the debris like he was with the first avalanche, according to the report.
Summit County Rescue Group member Charles Pitman, who was part of the rescue efforts, said the man was from outside of the county but was familiar with the area. Pitman said the snowshoer started his day around 8:30 a.m., but he decided to abandon a summit attempt after the weather turned for the worse, according to the avalanche center report.
“All of the sudden, the weather just turned into a white out,” Pitman said. “It was massive snow, lots of wind, and the snow conditions were a little sketchy. He couldn’t tell one direction from another. One more step in the wrong direction had him on top of the cornice.”
The man luckily had cell reception and was able to talk to rescuers as they made their way up toward him. The rescue group used a snowmobile to get a rescue crew up close to the snowshoer. Knowing the cornice and snow may be reactive, Pitman said it took a while to assess the situation and find an area to access the man.
— Andrew Maciejewski and Ryan Spencer