Blake Kieckhafer dies in fatal Rocky Mountain National Park fall
Fatal Rocky Mountain National Park fall death of Blake Kieckhafer
An autopsy performed on an individual discovered deceased at Rocky Mountain National Park earlier this month officially attributed the death to an accidental fall, a mishap that happened roughly two days after the person was transported to the area by a ridesharing provider. This official report was published on Thursday.
The deceased was confirmed to be Blake Kieckhafer, a resident of Omaha, Nebraska. His relatives submitted a missing persons notice to the park authorities on August 11, as it had been four days since Kieckhafer arrived in the Upper Beaver Meadows section of the park via a rideshare at approximately 5:20 p.m. on August 7.
The remains, initially thought to belong to Kieckhafer, were located above Emerald Lake on August 13 through a search operation. Helicopter assistance was used to relocate the body to a landing zone within the park, after which it was transferred to the Larimer County Coroner’s Office for further examination.
On Thursday, the coroner’s office provided a definitive confirmation that the remains were scientifically identified as Blake Kieckhafer. A thorough forensic autopsy concluded that the manner of death was an accident, resulting from several blunt force injuries caused by an unintentional fall, which is believed to have occurred on August 9.
Rocky Mountain National Park recently installed a new vault toilet facility, and this installation was noted in the context of the ongoing events, though it was not directly linked to the incident.
