After an extensive search and recovery of the bodies of two young archery hunters in southern Colorado that drew national attention, autopsies revealed the two died from a lightning strike.
The identities of the two 25-year-olds, Andrew Porter, who is from Asheville, North Carolina, and Ian Stasko, who is from Salt Lake City, Utah, was previously released.
An El Paso County coroner’s office spokesperson told the Coloradoan it performed the autopsies but that release of the information was up to Conejos County coroner Richard Martin. Martin confirmed the lightning strike as cause of death to the Coloradoan on Sept. 22.
“Absolutely, 100% sure it was a lightning strike and it wasn’t even a second that death was upon them,” Martin said.
Colorado averages two fatalities and 12 injuries per year from lightning, according to the National Weather Service.
Bridget Murphy, wrote on her Facebook account Sept. 22 that her fiancĂ©, Porter, and his friend Stasko, “Didn’t do anything wrong, they didn’t feel fear or pain. He was just trying to get back to the car as storms rolled in on Friday – September 12. It was out of everyone’s hands, and I am so grateful we found them so they can be at peace. He was an experienced outdoorsman, who was in the wrong spot at the wrong time.”
Martin, who stated he’s been the coroner 20-some years, said identifying the death as a lightning strike was not easy.
“It wasn’t like there was an entry and exit point,” Martin said. “There were little marks and singed hair on both of them that helped determine the cause.”
Martin said the two were found lying on the ground dressed in camouflage clothing under a large tree in an area not heavily wooded. He was not sure if the lightning hit the tree then the two hunters or directly hit the hunters.
He said the two hunters had on light jackets and boots, rain gear with them, along with a bow and binoculars.
“They were properly dressed, not necessarily to spend the night, but they could have and not had any trouble,” said Martin, who added a storm moved into the area Sept. 12. “It wasn’t heavily wooded, just a very pleasant place to hunt but not with lighting around.”
The two were elk hunting in the San Juan Wilderness just miles from the Colorado-New Mexico border when they were first reported missing Sept. 13 after last making contact with family members Sept. 11.
The Conejos County Sheriff’s Office previously reported searchers found two unidentifed bodies, at 11 a.m. Sept. 18, later identified as Porter and Stasko. They were found 2 miles from the Rio de Los Pinos Trailhead, which is 42 miles west of Antonito or 34 miles north of Chama, N.M.
Murphy posted on her Facebook page Sept. 22 that the she and Porter may have not legally been married yet, but that Porter was to her, her husband and partner after spending the last three years together.
“I wish I had 30 more,” Murphy wrote. “I sure feel like a widow. I sure feel like my future is blank now. But what reassures me is that they were doing what they loved, without fear, well prepared and equipped and this is a bizarre horrific act of nature. It could’ve happened anywhere, to anyone.
“Andrew, I will do what I can to take one step at a time. I don’t know what to do without you. I know this was not your choice. I know you love me and did everything right. I will always love you, with every breath I have.”
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Cause of deaths revealed of two hunters found in Colorado wilderness
