SAN LUIS, Colo.—The bodies of two Canadians killed in a plane crash in the southern Colorado mountains won’t be recovered until spring because of treacherous weather and the threat of avalanche.
Costilla County officials say the bodies of 67-year-old Gerrit Maureau of Calgary and his 65-year-old wife, Sheila Malm, will be recovered when it is safe to send a recovery team to Vermejo Peak. That’s where the couple died in a plane crash on Dec. 20 while heading to Santa Fe, N.M.
Officials at first said recovery would begin this weekend. But a Christmas snowstorm, and a review showing the wreckage is located more than 1,000 feet higher on the peak than at first believed, makes it unsafe to try to recover the couple.
County officials say they’ve talked to relatives about the recovery problem and that relatives were understanding.
