DELTA COUNTY, Colo. — The body of a duck hunter missing from the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area since Dec. 21 was found on Saturday, about two months after he disappeared.
The family of Wayne Phillips, 51, of Montrose, had reported him missing after he didn't return from a hunting trip. The Delta County Sheriff's Office said Phillips' wife and son found his black Ford F-150, hunting dogs and other items near the river before they called authorities.
Officials searched the Gunnison River and banks with probes, underwater cameras and sonar, drones, fix-wind aircraft and a helicopter.
The search efforts were suspended on Dec. 30.
On Feb. 25, the Delta County Sheriff's Office 911 Communication Center received a call from a person who had been fishing on the Gunnison River, according to the sheriff's office. The fisherman told dispatchers he found what he believed was a body in the river.
Deputies responded to the area, which was near where the search and rescue teams had looked for Phillips in late 2022. When they arrived, they confirmed the fisherman had found a human body.
The Delta County Search and Rescue Team and Delta County Coroner's Office responded to the scene.
The person was identified as Phillips after an autopsy.
The sheriff's office said Phillips was about 150 yards west of the main search area from December.
"The search for Mr. Phillips was one of the most lengthy, complex searches in the history of Delta County Search and Rescue Team and included over 500 man hours, as well as the utilization of numerous resources from across Delta County and beyond and included underwater and aerial drones, sonar, search dogs, multiple search and rescue teams, fixed wing aircraft and use of the San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office helicopter," the sheriff's office said.
