Heartbreaking news out of southern Colorado has left outdoor enthusiasts reeling as two young elk hunters met a tragic fate in the unforgiving wild.
The New York Post reported that Andrew Porter and Ian Stasko, both 25, were discovered deceased after vanishing during a hunting expedition, their bodies located a week later in a remote stretch of national forest with no clear cause of death.
These two men, hailing from Asheville, North Carolina, and Salt Lake City, Utah, respectively, set out for an elk hunting trip in Colorado’s rugged Game Management Unit 81, an area known for its harsh terrain and proximity to the New Mexico border.
Their journey took a dire turn when they were last heard from on a fateful September day, with Porter sending a satellite location ping to his fiancée near the Rio de los Pinos trailhead after 3 p.m.
Days prior, a witness spotted the pair with their vehicle at the Spruce Hole trailhead, where they mentioned chasing a bull moose—a noble pursuit, though perhaps a risky one in such unforgiving country.
Soon after, their car was relocated to the Rio de los Pinos trailhead, but crucial hunting gear was absent, hinting they’d ventured back into the wilderness unprepared for what lay ahead.
Evidence found by deputies suggested the men might have briefly returned to Stasko’s vehicle, possibly to change out of soaked clothing—a small but telling sign of the brutal conditions they faced.
An exhaustive search involving air and ground teams scoured the area for days, a testament to the grit of Colorado’s rescue crews who braved steep ridgelines and dense timber to bring answers to worried families.
Finally, after a grueling week, the hunters’ remains were located around 11 a.m. in a secluded spot roughly two miles from the trailhead, a discovery that brought closure but no comfort.
Shockingly, no visible injuries were apparent on the bodies, leaving investigators puzzled and the official cause of death pending further examination—a grim reminder of nature’s unpredictable wrath.
Families and friends, clinging to hope during the search, now grapple with unimaginable loss, their loved ones taken by a wilderness that offers no explanations or apologies.
“It is with a broken heart and through tears that I give you this update. Andrew and Ian have both been found deceased,” wrote Lynne Runkle, Porter’s aunt, in a heartbreaking GoFundMe post.
“Their bodies were discovered earlier today by Colorado Search and Rescue,” Runkle continued, her words echoing the pain of a community that rallied behind the search effort.
While some might rush to blame the hunters for tempting fate, let’s remember these were seasoned outdoorsmen, not reckless urbanites chasing Instagram likes in the backcountry.
The progressive push to sanitize nature with warning signs and guardrails ignores the raw reality that true adventurers like Porter and Stasko understood—sometimes, the wild wins, no matter your skill.
