The body of a missing man has been discovered at the bottom of a canyon in Colorado following a search operation.
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Authorities made the discovery at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park on October 28, a day after deputies began investigating reports of an abandoned vehicle.
At approximately 5:30 p.m. on October 27, deputies responded to reports of a vehicle parked near mile marker 10 along the canyon's South Rim.
Body Found at Bottom of Colorado Canyon Following Drone Search
The Montrose County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that authorities discovered personal belongings near Devil's Lookout, which they subsequently collected as evidence.
As concerns grew that the incident involved a missing person, authorities requested assistance from a drone team to search the surrounding area.
However, diminishing daylight prevented the team from completing a successful search that evening.
The following day, October 28, investigator Anthony Moschetti and Deputy Brett Suppes deployed a drone to continue searching the canyon.
During the operation, they discovered human remains on the canyon floor.
On October 30, recovery crews retrieved the body, which authorities "transferred to the custody of the Montrose County Coroner's Office."
Following an autopsy at Community Hospital, officials identified the deceased as John N. Countryman, a 57-year-old man from Denver.
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The Montrose County Sheriff's Office confirmed that investigators are working to establish the cause and manner of Countryman's death.
The National Park Service describes Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park as "incredibly deep and sheer, with plunging cliffs, soaring buttresses and a thundering river".
The discovery comes amid another tragedy in Colorado, where authorities recovered the bodies of two college students from a basin near West Apostle Mountain.
Officials discovered Kaden Matsuda, 19, and Jackson Donlon, 20, on Thursday, October 29, and determined that both had died from "multiple blunt force injuries".
According to investigators, the pair had been rappelling when one of their anchors experienced a "catastrophic failure of unknown cause".
Authorities said Matsuda and Donlon "then fell a substantial distance" after their equipment failed, resulting in fatal injuries.
