(TELLER COUNTY, Colo.) — The Teller County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) will be honoring the man who died after an equipment malfunction at a Colorado gold mine during a procession this week.
On Thursday, Oct. 10, an incident at the Mollie Kathleen Mine left one dead and 12 others trapped at 1,000 feet below ground. The victim, identified as 46-year-old Patrick Weier, died after an elevator malfunction that occurred at 500 feet.
Weier lived in Victor, a small town outside of Cripple Creek, and many in the community, like most in the area, knew him.
Weier was described as a very active person in the community and well-respected by all. Recently, he had completed his fire certificate to be a volunteer firefighter in the small community outside Cripple Creek.
“My feelings are… that he was attempting to make everybody safe. Now, I don’t know what occurred though. I think our investigation will come out with that. You know, all I know is that he was a good man and he loved his job,” Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell told FOX21 previously. “For us, and what it looks like, that he may have been a hero from the beginning.”
To honor him, TCSO will host the Patrick Walter Weier Memorial Procession on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 10 a.m. The procession will depart from the Cripple Creek Railroad parking lot located at 520 East Carr Avenue and will go west toward Bennett Avenue, then conclude at Cripple Creek City Park.
Community members will have the opportunity to share their favorite memories of Weier at the park. Anyone who wishes to participate in the procession is asked to be at the railroad parking lot by 9:30 a.m. for staging.
Weier’s brother, John Weier, has set up a GoFundMe to raise funds that will go towards Patrick Weier’s 7-year-old son’s future.
Weier is remembered as a “Son, Brother, Friend, Deeply Devoted Father, and Hero.”
