Tragic: Colorado Officials Locate Body of 23-Year-Old Hiker Who Took ‘Significant Fall’

Colorado officials located the body of 23-year-old Lucas Macaj on Thursday in Rocky Mountain National Park after he was reported overdue late Sunday.

The body of Macaj, a Colorado Springs resident, was found on Mills Glacier, the National Park Service stated in a news release.

Officials said the young man apparently took a “significant fall” during his hike. Rangers with the park completed their investigation into the case, and a helicopter flew the young man’s body to a landing zone in the park. Officials then transferred his body to the Boulder County Coroner’s Office.

The press release continued:

Macaj was reported overdue late Sunday night after attempting to summit Longs Peak on Sunday, May 12. Macaj started from the Longs Peak Trailhead early Sunday, to summit Longs Peak via the Keyhole Route. Macaj was last heard from at approximately 1 p.m. Sunday, May 12, when he texted a friend indicating that he was on the summit of Longs Peak. Significant storms moved through high elevations in the park Sunday afternoon.

Search efforts began on Monday and have included air reconnaissance, ground teams and dog teams searching the Longs Peak Trail and along the Keyhole Route, glassing areas above Black Lake, areas above Sandbeach Lake, the Hunter’s Creek Drainage to the base of Keplinger’s Coulier, and areas near Chasm Lake to the Loft.

In a social media post on Thursday, the national park said the coroner’s office would release the young man’s cause of death.

“Rest in peace, Lucas Peter Macaj, the love of my life. It hurts so bad to know that you were taken from me so early. All I have is our memories to move me forward and the thought that I will see you again one day,” a loved one wrote of Macaj in a social media post on Friday.

“I will always love you. You were my light, my rock, my world, my galaxy, my warfighter, my space Marine, my future husband, my other half, my Del, my Lucas,” she added:

In November, a 71-year-old Colorado hiker named Rich Moore — who went missing in August — was found dead with his dog still alive by his side, Breitbart News reported at the time.

“Despite the ongoing search, Moore could not be located. Two months had passed [before] a hunter in the Rio Blanco drainage found his body about 2.5 miles east of the peak. His Jack Russell terrier was still alive and near the body,” the report said.