The body of Eric Kophs, the Cherry Creek School district official missing since a rafting trip on June 20, was found several miles downstream in the Colorado River today.
A rafting guide found Kophs, 42, about noon on an island that had been submerged by the river until the last few days, according to the Grand County Sheriff’s Department.
Kophs had been fishing and rafting with a friend when he was fell in the river in the Needle’s Eye Rapids south of Kremmling.
Kophs was the director of elementary education for the school district. He had previously been principal at Aurora’s Summit Elementary and Sunrise Elementary in the district.
His wife, Tiffany, is the assistant principal at Horizon Middle School in Aurora.
A memorial already had been planned for Friday at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of Loreto at 18000 East Arapahoe Road in Foxfield.
Donations for a scholarship fund for Koph’s teenaged son, Ryan, also are being accepted at the Southlands branch of Wells Fargo Bank, in care of Mark Ashcraft, 23962 East Prospect Ave., Aurora, Colo. 80016. Checks should be made payable to the Ryan Kophs Scholarship Fund.
“We are very, very grateful to the Grand County Sheriff’s Department and all the rescuers and volunteers who looked for Eric; they’ve been amazing throughout this very difficult time,” said school district spokeswoman Tustin Amole.
“This allows the family some closure, and we intend to continue to be there to support them in any way we can.”
