Colorado officials on Monday ended the search for a mountain lion suspected of being part of a family involved in the fatal New Year’s Day attack of a solo hiker. File Photo by the National Park Service
State wildlife officials have ended a search for a third mountain lion in the area of north-central Colorado where a solo hiker was killed in a mountain lion attack on New Year’s Day.
The victim was identified in a statement Monday by the Larimer County Coroner’s Office as Kristen Marie Kovatch, 46, of Fort Collins, Colo.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials said hikers at about 12:15 p.m. MST on Thursday spotted a mountain lion standing over a person lying on the ground 100 yards away on the Crosier Mountain Trail in Larimer County.
As the hikers approached, they threw rocks at the animal and scared it away.
The woman was found without a pulse, according to officials.
Officers arrived at the scene to find a male subadult approaching the area, and a CPW official shot it. The wounded animal was later tracked down and euthanized.
A second lion, a female subadult, was also spotted close to the area, tracked and euthanized. Meanwhile, a third lion observed by officers was pursued by hounds but could not be located, which prompted officials to launch the search. Officials suspect a family of lions was responsible for the woman’s death.
On Monday, CPW announced in a statement that following a search of the region for more than 72 hours, no fresh tracks or scent of the animal were detected and the operation was brought to a close.
“This is a terrible tragedy,” Mark Leslie, regional manager for CPW’s northeast region, said in a statement.
“This hiker did what many people did on New Year’s Day. She went out in nature on the first day of a new year, and the fact that she did not return to her family and friends is nothing short of heartbreaking. We encourage the public to have compassion and empathy for her and her loved ones.”
Necropsies performed on the two deceased mountain lions identified both animals as 12 months old, one a subadult male and the other a subadult female. Both were in “very good condition with no signs of organ abnormalities,” according to CPW.
The reports state that human DNA was found on all four paws of the male, while none was found on the female. Neither tested positive for rabies, according to CPW.
The Larimer County Coroner’s Office ruled the manner of Kovatch’s death as an accident. The cause of death was listed as “Asphyxia due to external neck compression.”
Her autopsy was performed Monday at the Larimer County Forensic Sciences Center.
With the end of the search, Crosier Mountain Trail was reopened to the public.
However, mountain lion signage with education messages will remain in place, seemingly in addition to permanent signage warning of lion activity that has been on the trail for years.
There were five mountain lion-related activities reported in the region last year, resulting in the deaths of two dogs and the attack of a third.
According to Colorado wildlife officials, there is a high density of mountain lions in Larimer County due to deer and elk populations and a healthy habitat.
Colorado has between 3,800 and 4,400 mountain lions, according to the CPW website.
