GRAND JUNCTION — The Mesa County Coroner’s office has concluded a two month investigation into the death of 23-year-old Dannah E. Foster who died while camping on BLM land in Rabbit Valley in April. Foster, of Clifton, was discovered at the base of a cliff on April 9 after going missing from her campsite the night before, said Lisa McCammon, spokeswoman for the Mesa county Sheriff’s office.
Her blood alcohol level was .609 percent, seven times the legal limit, according to the coroner’s report. She also had multiple abrasions. One abrasion on her lower right chest and upper abdomen could not be ruled out as matching the tread pattern of her husband’s shoe, according to the coroner’s report.
Investigators visited the scene twice, including descending to where Foster’s body was found.
“We could find nothing that would be consistent with that pattern of abrasion at the bottom of the cliff or anywhere in between,” said Kim Hollingshead, deputy coroner and investigator for Mesa County, and the abrasion occurred a short time before her death.
Investigators need more information to rule Foster’s death an accident, a suicide or a homicide leaving the manner of death as “undetermined.”
Mesa County police consider the investigation closed, McCammon said, citing a lack of evidence.
“There’s no way we could prove a criminal case,” McCammon said.
Foster apparently wandered from her campsite sometime on the night of April 8 or early on April 9. She was reported missing later in the day on April 9.
“There were a lot of odd things about this case, but there was also a lot of alcohol involved for all,” McCammon said.
Heather McWilliams: 303-954-1698 or hmcwilliams@denverpost.com
