Folded clothes found on beach lead rescuers to two drowned men, Colorado officials say

Deputies searching a Dillon Lake campground for two men reported driving intoxicated first found their empty vehicle, then their folded clothes piled on a beach, Colorado officials reported.

An hour-long search of the campground and lake the night of Thursday, Sept. 8, failed to find the men, Summit County sheriff’s officials said in a news release.

After the missing men failed to turn up Friday, Sept. 9, searchers found their bodies at 1 p.m. in the lake, sheriff’s officials said. Officials are investigating the drownings.

The men were found in 15 feet of water about 100 feet offshore from where their clothes were discovered, the release said.

The bodies were found just past a steep drop-off from the shallow beach area, officials said. Search teams used airborne and underwater drones along with boats and ground teams.

“This is a tragic loss of two lives,” Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons said in the release.

Deputies had initially responded to reports of two men driving intoxicated at Heaton Bay Camp Ground at 7:20 p.m. Sept. 8, sheriff’s officials said.

After finding the empty vehicle, they searched for about an hour, then were called back a short time later when the piled clothing was found, the release said.

They conducted another search in the darkness before deciding to plan a full-scale search the next morning if the men did not turn up, sheriff’s officials said.

Dillon Reservoir is about 70 miles west of Denver.

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