(EL PASO COUNTY, Colo.) — On Wednesday, June 18, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO), in a joint operation with supporting agencies, was able to recover the body believed to be 55-year-old Russell Hardy.
Hardy was reported missing on Friday, June 13, after arriving in Colorado Springs on Tuesday, June 10, and failing to return home.
On Monday, June 16, a hiker found a body matching the description of Hardy near the summit of Pikes Peak. Search and Rescue teams determined they could not access the body’s location on foot without a significant safety risk.
On Wednesday, June 18, in cooperation between EPSO, the Army Reserve 7-158th General Support Aviation Battalion, and El Paso County Search and Rescue, a high-angle helicopter hoist recovery successfully retrieved the body.
“I’m grateful for the strong partnerships my Office maintains with federal, state, and local agencies,” said El Paso County Sheriff Joseph Roybal. “Over the last few days, my deputies, Teller County deputies, Search and Rescue personnel from both counties, and hundreds of volunteers worked tirelessly to locate Mr. Hardy and bring answers to his loved ones.”
“We appreciate the collaboration with the Sheriff’s Offices in El Paso and Teller Counties and Teller County Search and Rescue on this difficult search and recovery mission,” said Chris Valentine, Public Information Officer for El Paso County Search and Rescue. “We also want to share our appreciation for the 11th ECAB for being ready, relevant, and responsive to local authorities’ requests for assistance, ensuring the most appropriate asset was available for the recovery, reducing the significant risk to volunteer rescuers that a ground evacuation would have encountered.
The remains were transferred to the El Paso County Coroner’s Office for confirmation on identification and updates to the cause of death.
