A Missouri man was rescued from the wilderness outside Aspen on Tuesday after a roughly eight-hour mountain extraction.
Christopher Michael Fontaine, of Grain Valley, Mo., was reported overdue about 2 p.m. and thought to be in the Snowmass Lake area of Pitkin County. Rescuers began their search soon after, finding Fontaine, 28, about 9 p.m. near the lake.
“Rescuers reported that Mr. Fontaine’s condition warranted immediate extrication and medical attention,” the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
“He was having a medical issue,” Pitkin County Deputy Alex Burchetta said Wednesday morning. “He had some injuries to his feet, he had dehydration and other (problems) that individually wouldn’t have been so serious but combined led us to do the rescue last night as opposed to this morning.”
A Flight for Life helicopter was dispatched from Frisco to the scene, arriving about 10:30 p.m. Fontaine was flown to Aspen Valley Hospital for treatment, the release said.
“Night time rescues are generally not carried out by the sheriff’s office because of the greatly added risk to rescuers, but due to the reported severity of Mr. Fontaine’s condition it was deemed necessary to deploy personnel and a helicopter into the dark,” the release said.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or
