Search teams find man who fell into Colorado’s Devil’s Punch Bowl
UPDATE: Search teams have located the body of a man who fell into an area of the Roaring Forks River in Colorado known as the Devil’s Punch Bowl, officials said.
“At approx 10AM on Thursday, June 16th, search teams discovered the body of Steven Scott Midlarsky under the surface of the water in the Devil’s Punchbowl,” the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office tweeted.
The original story is below.
Officials are continuing to search for a man who fell into an area of the Roaring Forks River in Colorado known as the Devil’s Punch Bowl, officials said.
Pitkin County deputies and several area emergency response teams were deployed on a search and rescue mission to find the man shortly after noon on Wednesday, June 15, according to a news release.
Devil’s Punch Bowl is about 8 miles southeast of Aspen, off state Highway 82, the release said.
Because there is no cellphone service in that area, according to the release, the initial call to 911 was delayed while those reporting the incident drove to find cell service.
“It was reported that the subject was swept into the Devil’s Punch Bowl and never resurfaced,” the release said.
After searching for three hours, officials shifted their efforts from a “search and rescue” to a “search and recovery,” according to the release. Search efforts were suspended at around 8 p.m. with “the loss of daylight.”
Recovery efforts were set to begin again early Thursday morning, the release said.
The man’s identity has not been released.
“The Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind the public that while the rivers, creeks and streams may be past peak runoff stage for the summer, they remain a hazard for those who enter unprepared for strong currents and the extremely cold water,” the release said.
The department went on to encourage visitors to use a “personal flotation device” if they are “within 10 feet of swiftly moving or turbulent water.”
This story was originally published June 16, 2022 at 1:04 PM with the headline "Search teams find man who fell into Colorado’s Devil’s Punch Bowl."
