11/14/2024
The rescue and recovery efforts of a hunter who was found dead by his brother in October at the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Mosca were recently detailed by Alamosa Volunteer Search and Rescue.
According to AVSAR, on Oct. 31, crews, along with Saguache County Search and Rescue and Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, were called to assist in the search of an overdue hunter, who had not been seen since the evening of Oct. 30.
According to rescue crews, the hunters were in the area of Saguache County near Sand Creek, which is on the northern side of the national park. When the man did not return to camp the next morning on Oct. 31, “the hunting party triggered the SOS feature on their Garmin Satellite device.”
The man’s brother also went hiking to look for him and later contacted rescue crews that his brother, identified as Lance Walker of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was found dead in an area of rough terrain.
“A unified command was created with SAGSAR, AVSAR, and the National Park Service (NPS),” according to the Facebook post shared on Nov. 14. “Over 20 team members from three teams (Saguache, Alamosa, and Chaffee South) responded to the incident.”