Body of Hunter Missing Since Halloween Found in Colorado by Search and Rescue Team

The body of a hunter who had been reported missing on Oct. 31 has been recovered. 

On Oct. 30, Lance Walker, of Baton Rouge, La., went hunting at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in southern Colorado, CBS News reported on Thursday, Nov. 14. 

According to the outlet, when the group returned to their campsite that evening, Walker was nowhere to be found. When he still had not returned by the morning of Oct. 31, the others he was with triggered the SOS feature on a Garmin satellite device to alert authorities.

Per 9 News, the group was stationed on the northern side of the national park, in the area of Saguache County near Sand Creek.

Around this time, Walker’s brother, who was part of the hunting party, left by foot to try and locate his sibling. He later found Walker dead in an area consisting of rugged terrain. 

Alamosa Volunteer Search and Rescue, along with Saguache County Search and Rescue and Chaffee South assisted in the recovery of Walker’s body, however, due to weather conditions, helicopter crews could not further assist in recovery efforts until the following day.

“A unified command was created with SAGSAR, AVSAR, and the National Park Service (NPS),” one of the rescue teams said in a statement on Thursday, per KDVR. “Over 20 team members from three teams (Saguache, Alamosa, and Chaffee South) responded to the incident.”

Walker’s body was recovered on Nov. 1. 

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“The Unified Command of the incident (GRSA, AVSAR, CCSAR-S, and SAGSAR) would like to send our deepest condolences to the family of Lance Walker. We cannot thank enough all the responding teams and assets for their help in getting this man home to his family after such a tragic accident,” the organization added in a statement, per CBS News.

At this time, his cause of death remains unknown, 9 News reported on Friday, Nov. 15.