GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Authorities on the Western Slope are searching for two men missing after they possibly drove a Sno-Cat onto Island Lake near the Grand Mesa Lodge early Sunday morning.
The two men – 30-year-old Ryan Wells and 30-year-old Richard Colton, both of Delta – were part of a group of four who were staying at Grand Mesa Lodge. They arrived at the lodge on a Sno-Cat owned by Wells Saturday night and told the cabin’s owner they planned to take it onto the lake, Delta County Sheriff Mark Taylor told Denver7.
The cabin owner advised them not to do so because of the Sno-Cat’s weight, but two cabin guests heard the Sno-Cat start up around 2 a.m. Sunday and leave. When the guests awoke the next morning, neither Wells, Colton nor the Sno-Cat could be found.
They followed the Sno-Cat tracks to Island Lake and found what Taylor said was a “huge hole” where the Sno-Cat appeared to have fallen through the ice.
Taylor said there was an ongoing effort Monday to locate Wells and Colton, as well as the Sno-Cat. Summit County Search and Rescue is assisting in the effort and is using an underwater drone to continue the search into the evening.
