Rockford man falls 300 feet and dies while hiking in Colorado

David Mecklenburg, 56, apparently slipped while hiking on a snowy trail, Clear Creek County Chief Deputy Coroner Nicol Nelson said.

The death remains under investigation, she said.

St. Mary’s Glacier is located in the Arapaho National Forest, about 40 miles west of Denver, the Alpine Rescue Team wrote in a Facebook post June 14.

"He fell approximately 300 feet down a steep snow slope that was intersected by a couple cliff bands," Jake Smith, a spokesperson for Alpine Rescue Team, told the USA TODAY.

Someone had called the rescue team for help at 2:20 p.m. A 25-member team responded along with a Flight for Life helicopter and other first responders from Clear Creek County.

The teams climbed to find Mecklenburg, confirmed he was deceased and completed a technical evacuation, according to the Alpine Rescue Team Facebook post.

Results of an autopsy conducted Monday were not immediately available.

"Our sincerest condolences to our subject and their family," the Rescue Team wrote in its Facebook post.

Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached at (815) 987-1374, via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on X @jeffkolkey.