The two Iowa snowmobilers who were killed in an avalanche on New Year’s Day were illegally riding in the Neota Wilderness Area, and their 10 companions are now under investigation for violating federal intrusion laws.
A U.S. Forest Service enforcement officer will interview members of the snowmobiling party, who were mostly friends from eastern Iowa, and two local men, said Reghan Cloudman, spokeswoman for the Canyon Lakes Ranger District of the Forest Service.
“They went into an area that does not allow snowmobiles,” Cloudman said.
They could be charged with using motorized vehicles in a protected wilderness area, which could bring federal citations of up to $5,000 and prison sentences of up to six months, Cloudman said.
“We’re not looking to cause any more hardship for these people,” Cloudman said Tuesday. “We know they already suffered a terrible loss.”
Jacob Kroeger, 25, of Stockton, Iowa, and Gabriel Medina, 32, of Wilton, Iowa, suffocated Sunday after they were buried in an avalanche near Trap Lake in the 10,000- acre wilderness area.
Duane Kirkland of Loveland said he met the Iowa snowmobilers in a parking lot for snowmobilers at Buffalo Pass and agreed to take them to a slope he said he has used for snowmobiling hundreds of times.
He said he and the others were “high- marking,” or riding their snowmobiles up the slope to see how high they could reach when a huge patch of snow gave way just before 11 a.m.
Kirkland said he did not know it was a wilderness area.
“How am I supposed to know? There’s no posts, no markings anywhere,” he said. “That’s a fact. In other wilderness areas, there are signs everywhere. If there is no sign on the freeway, how do you know how fast to go?”
Cloudman said there is a sign marking the boundary of the wilderness area, but she was unsure whether the sign is visible in the winter.
“Whether they knew they were in a wilderness area will make a difference,” she said.
All motorized vehicles – including ATVs, motorcycles and snowmobiles – are prohibited on wilderness areas, which are designated to protect forests, Cloudman said.
Visitors can hike, cross-country ski and snowshoe in wilderness areas, she said.
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-820-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.
