An underwater search in Lake Dillon on Monday turned up what is believed to be the body of former Republican state Sen. Bryan Sullivant.
Sullivant, 51, was last seen Saturday night in his dinghy, headed for his sailboat moored at Frisco Bay Marina, according to a Summit County Sheriff’s Office news release. Searchers found the capsized dinghy Sunday.
“It was attached to his boat, so presumably he made it to his boat,” said Summit County Undersheriff Derek Woodman.
The body was in about 30 feet of water, and a diver was working to extract it as of sundown Monday, Woodman said.
Sullivant went out to eat with friends in Frisco on Saturday evening, said Woodman. “There had been some alcohol consumed during the night, but we don’t know if that was a contributing factor,” he said.
Woodman said authorities have no reason to suspect foul play in the disappearance.
Sullivant had been arrested twice, accused of driving under the influence of alcohol, according to Colorado Bureau of Investigation records. He was charged with DUI in Frisco last year, a case that remains open, and in 2003, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of misdemeanor driving while ability impaired, records show.
In 1999, a vacancy committee selected Sullivant, then a state representative, to replace Tony Grampsas of Evergreen, who died of cancer.
A year later, Sullivant resigned from his first election bid to the state Senate amid allegations that he misused campaign contributions.
Sullivant said he was not seeking re-election to the District 13 Senate seat because he needed to “make a living.”
“I was quite upset with Bryan when I found out about the campaign money, because he was a good legislator,” said former Republican lawmaker Norma Anderson of Lakewood, who served with Sullivant. “He sort of lived on the edge; he liked to go to parties and dinners and was always very active socially.”
According to people who knew him, Sullivant had a young daughter.
“It’s an untimely death, very unfortunate and sad, and certainly I would want to keep his family members in my prayers,” said Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, a Jefferson County Democrat.
Staff writer Manny Gonzales can be reached at 303-954-1537 or mgonzales@denverpost.com.
