Body of missing man found in CO river one year after rafting accident, cops say
The body of a missing man was found almost one full year after he went missing following a rafting accident on the Colorado River, officials said.
At least three people had been in the raft when it capsized June 1, 2024, on the river in the Gore Canyon, southwest of the town of Kremmling, the Grand County Sheriff’s Office said in a June 4 post on Facebook.
One of them made it out of the river safely, while another was found not breathing in the river, officials said. The third man was missing altogether.
“Further reports from the scene received by a Garmin device reported that there had been a rafting accident and that bystander CPR was in progress on an adult male, who was later pronounced deceased by EMS personnel,” officials said.
The other person in the raft was “still missing following the accident after the raft capsized,” officials said.
Emergency responders searched for the man in rafts, on the ground, in the air and by railroad but didn’t find him, the agency said.
The Grand County Coroner’s Office at the time identified the deceased person as Brent Boulter, a 56-year-old man from Aurora, and the missing man was identified as Thomas Russell, a 61-year-old from Littleton. Investigators determined neither of them were likely wearing a life jacket.
Then almost a year later, on May 21, the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office told Grand County Sheriff’s Office that it had found a body in the Colorado River near Rancho Del Rio when water levels were low, officials said.
The body was believed to be Russell, and the Grand County Sheriff’s Office confirmed his identity using dental records, and his next of kin was notified, officials said.
This story was originally published June 5, 2025 at 5:34 PM with the headline "Body of missing man found in CO river one year after rafting accident, cops say."
