Hugh Carey / hcarey@summitdaily.com
Editor’s note: Stories in this list received the most page views on SummitDaily.com for the past week.
Travis Kauffman says he’s glad his 15 seconds of fame has come and gone. Five and a half months after he killed a mountain lion with his bare hands during a trail run in Fort Collins, Kauffman says he’s back to being an ordinary guy. The injuries the 32-year-old environmental engineer suffered during the Feb. 4 incident have healed without lasting problems, the local and international notoriety has subsided and he’s happily blended into the background of daily life in Fort Collins.
Although he has several physical scars from the incident, including a faint slash across his left cheek where the lion’s claw opened a big cut on his face, he doesn’t carry any lasting anxiety or PTSD. He hasn’t had any bad dreams and has largely forgotten about it despite often running on the same trail.
— The Colorado Sun
2. Body found in Blue River identified as missing Breckenridge man
The person found in the Blue River on Monday afternoon has been identified as John Scott Still, 53, according to the Summit County Coroner’s Office. Still, who was known as Scott, went missing at about 1:40 a.m. Wednesday, July 17, near Peak 7 in Breckenridge. Deputies with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office responded to a missing persons call at about 11:30 a.m. the same morning but were unable to locate him in the area.
On Monday, July 22, law enforcement agents with the Sheriff’s Office and the Breckenridge Police Department recovered a body from the Blue River in northern Breckenridge. The manner and cause of death are pending autopsy, though Summit County Coroner Regan Wood noted foul play is not suspected at this time.
— Sawyer D’Argonne
3. Vail Resorts to add 17 new ski areas to Epic Pass with acquisition of Peak Resorts
Vail Resorts announced it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire 100 percent of the outstanding stock of Peak Resorts, Inc. at a purchase price of $11 per share, subject to certain conditions, including regulatory review and Peak Resorts’ shareholder approval. Through the acquisition, Vail Resorts will add 17 U.S. ski areas to its network of world-class resorts, including ski areas in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Columbus, St. Louis, Kansas City and Louisville.
— Vail Daily
4. Breckenridge police ask for help identifying person of interest in assault case
The Breckenridge Police Department is asking the community for help in identifying a person of interest in an assault that took place earlier this month. The assault occurred in the area of Lincoln and Ski Hill Road on Saturday, July 13, according to a release from the police department. Officers were able to identify one suspect but are currently looking for another person of interest in the case.
The person of interest is a male who is described as 5 feet, 9 inches tall and 170 pounds with a medium build. He has a beard and was last seen wearing a red shirt and blue jeans.
— Sawyer D’Argonne
5. Summit County history: How Dillon residents moved an entire town before filling the reservoir
The little town known today as Dillon has a particularly peculiar history. The town — which could be called New Dillon if you want to get technical, New New New Dillon if you want to get pedantic — is the fourth iteration of the original town established in 1881. The town’s turbulent history mirrors the fortunes and evolution of Summit County as a whole. Sandra Mather, former president of the Summit Historical Society and an author of 20 books on Summit County history, gave a lunchtime lecture to locals in Frisco on July 10 about the Dillon Reservoir and the town it replaced.
— Deepan Dutta