DENVER (KDVR) A man who went missing on the Colorado River during a rafting trip on June 1, 2024, has been found and identified through dental records.
First responders were called at about 3:40 p.m. to the Colorado River in the Gore Canyon, southwest of Kremmling, on June 1, 2024. Many agencies responded to the area.
The sheriff’s office said there were reports from a Garmin device at the scene stating there was a rafting accident, and one person was receiving CPR, but was later pronounced dead, while a second man was missing after the raft capsized.
The Grand County Coroner’s Office identified the male who died after receiving CPR on June 1, 2024, as Brent Boulter, 56, of Aurora. The missing man was identified as Thomas Russell, 61, of Littleton. Preliminary reports said neither subject was wearing a personal flotation device.
Emergency responders searched for the missing man using rafts, ground crews, unmanned aerial systems, and a Union Pacific Railroad Hi-Rail. The teams searched the river and the surrounding area of the missing subject but were unable to locate him.
Another round of search efforts was conducted on June 2, 2024, with River Rangers from the Bureau of Land Management and a Colorado Parks and Wildlife officer searching via raft and kayak in the river from Radium to Two Bridges. The man was still not found.
On May 21 of this year, the Grand County Sheriff’s Office received notification from the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office of a deceased person in the river near Rancho Del Rio. The offices said that low water levels had led to the discovery.
Preliminarily, deputies believed the remains belonged to the missing man. The case was transferred to the Grand County Coroner’s Office, which used an odontologist to forensically identify the man’s remains.
