Longtime resident found deceased

Celebration of Life Saturday

by Mark Reaman

Local safety personnel were called to the Irwin townsite early Sunday morning, December 8, to deal with the sudden death of a longtime valley resident.

John Biro, 67, was found deceased in his home and members of the Mt. Crested Butte Police Department, the Crested Butte Search and Rescue team and county coroner’s office responded to the call. Biro has two young boys.

A celebration of life for Biro will be held on Saturday, December 14 at 10 a.m. at the Crested Butte Center for the Arts.

According to a press release from Mt. Crested Butte, “On December 8 at approximately 1:30 a.m. the Mt. Crested Butte Police Department was notified of an unattended death at a home in the Irwin Townsite, Gunnison County Colorado. This location is approximately eight miles west of Crested Butte, Colorado. During the winter months this location is accessible by snow machine only. A Crested Butte Search and Rescue team, including two CBSAR members, a Mt. Crested Butte Police Officer and the Coroner, was launched at approximately 2 a.m. for recovery of the victim, 67-year-old John Biro (dob 04/15/1952), a resident of the Irwin community. The recovery was completed with all team members out of the backcountry by 5:40 a.m.”

Deputy county coroner Lisa Merck went to the cabin with CBSAR. She said the cause of death was due to chronic medical conditions and the manner of death was natural.