Helicopter used to retrieve body from Black Canyon

On Friday, October 30, a body was recovered from the Pulpit Rock area in the Black Canyon. Led by Rick Fellabaum, chief investigator of the Montrose County Coroner’s Office, the recovery team included the Montrose County Sheriff’s Office and the National Park Service (NPS).

The retrieval was made possible utilizing a helicopter owned by Hillsboro Aviation from Hillsboro, Oregon and the assistance of crew members from the NPS out of Mt. Rainier, Wash. The identity of the deceased has been confirmed as Walter Kent Jackson, an 18-year-old student of Western Colorado University in Gunnison. The cause and manner of death are pending an autopsy and continuing investigation by the Montrose County Sheriff’s Office, the Gunnison Police Department, the National Park Service and the Montrose County Coroner’s Office of Medical Investigation.