Photo: Getty Images
Three "mummified" bodies were found by a hiker at the remote Gold Creek Campground at Gunnison National Forest within the Rocky Mountains recently.
The Gunnison County Sheriff's Office said it was contacted by the hiker after he discovered a "heavily decomposed" body near the Gold Creek Campground on July 9, according to a Facebook post shared by the department on July 12. Investigators from the sheriff's office and Forest Service were present at the scene the following day and located two additional bodies at the camp site, which were also reported to be decomposed.
Gunnison County Sheriff Adam Murdie told Montrose Daily Press that two of the bodies were located inside a tent near personal items, while the third was found in some trees at a nearby area. The bodies were described as being "fairly mummified" and suspected of having been at the campsite for a significant amount of time.
Murdie said there weren't signs of trauma to the three bodies and claimed there wasn't any suspected danger to other backpackers or local residents.
The Gunnison County Coroner later said evidence found at the scene suggested the three individuals were suspected of arrived at the campsite in July 2022, with malnutrition and exposure are suspected to be the cause of death, though an official report has not yet been published, NBC 11 News reported last Friday (July 14).