Woman Killed in Suspected Mountain Lion Attack on Colorado Trail

Colorado wildlife officers have euthanized two mountain lions and are looking for a third that could have been involved in a fatal attack. (Photo by The Len)

Authorities believe a mountain lion attacked and killed a 25-year-old woman hiking on a Colorado trail.

According to The Trek, hikers found the body of Annika Lang, of Fort Collins, on the Crosier Mountain Trail near Estes Park on New Year’s Day. Reports state that the hikers witnessed a mountain lion guarding the body. After scaring the lion away by throwing rocks, the hikers checked Lang’s pulse, but she was already deceased.

Lang was likely hiking alone during the incident, which marks Colorado’s first mountain lion attack fatality in more than two decades.

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State wildlife officers located and euthanized two mountain lions – an adult female and a subadult male – in the vicinity after the attack. They are currently looking for a third mountain lion that may be involved. Pathologists will perform necropsies on both cats to test for human DNA to confirm their involvement in the attack.

According to reports, that specific area of the Crosier Mountain Trail had been the site of multiple aggressive mountain lion encounters in the weeks leading up to the fatal attack.