ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, Colo. — A 24-year-old died in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) on Sunday after he fell into the water near West Creek Falls and was pulled under.
A spokesperson for RMNP said the man's body was recovered Sunday evening.
The circumstances around how and exactly when he fell were not available Monday afternoon.
The man's body was flown by Northern Colorado Interagency Helitack to a helispot in the Upper Beaver Meadows area of the park and then transferred to the Office of the Larimer County Coroner/Medical Examiner. A coroner will determine his cause of death.
The trail to West Creek Falls is off the Northern Boundary Trail on the eastern edge of the national park. It is a relatively quiet part of the park.
The below video shows the flow on June 11, 2023.
The RMNP spokesperson said all waterways in the park — rivers, streams and waterfalls — are running very fast, deep and cold. Visitors should not approach the banks, which are slippery.
On Friday, the man was identified as Luis Monteiro of Las Vegas, Nevada, by the Larimer County Coroner. His manner of death was classified as an accident and his cause of death was drowning.
Editor's note on July 7 at 10:45 p.m.: This story has been modified to include the man's identity and his cause and manner of death. He was 24 years old, not 25, as originally reported by Rocky Mountain National Park officials.
