The Grand County Sheriff’s Office said searchers discovered a body 25 feet underwater in the Colorado River around 3 p.m. Saturday near the area where a 19-year-old Avon man was reported missing four days ago.
Authorities were unable to bring the body to the surface and plan to return Sunday morning with a diving team.
“We’re very confident that it’s going to be the kid from Avon that we’ve been looking for because it’s in the same area we’ve been looking in,” said Lt. Dan Mayer with the Sheriff’s Office. He expects the body to be recovered by noon.
The teenager’s name has not been released.
According to the teen’s friend, the two were rafting Wednesday and stopped to camp for the night. When the friend went to look for firewood about midnight, he returned to find his friend missing, authorities say. His friend called 911 Thursday morning and authorities began the search and were led to the water by trained dogs.
Mayer said the area is remote and has minimal cellphone signal. To reach the location in the river, authorities will need to borrow a truck from Union Pacific that can ride on the train tracks.
“We’ve already been in touch with the family,” Mayer said. “It’s been unbelievable. There have been 100 people come from Avon to support the family.”
