Pitkin County authorities have arrested a 31-year-old man on suspicion of pushing a snowboarder off a chairlift last month at Aspen Highlands.
Thomas Proesel is accused in the case of attempted second-degree assault, a felony, and reckless endangerment. Records show he appeared in court Thursday for an advisement.
Proesel’s bond was set at $10,000. He is due back before a judge on March 7 to be arraigned.
DOCUMENT: Arrest affidavit for Thomas N. Prosesel
The Aspen Times reports Proesel has spent the past three weeks in a Grand Junction mental health facility where he was receiving treatment for an undisclosed, but serious, illness. The newspaper said Proesel is from Chicago, but has been living in Aspen.
Investigators believe Prosel pushed Seth Beckton off the Loge Peak lift on Jan. 17. Beckton’s story became public after be posted about it on his Facebook page and quickly began making rounds on the Internet.
Aspenites have been ruminating about the case for weeks, wondering who the suspect was and even questioning whether or not Beckton’s claims were real.
Beckton said he was pushed from the chairlift after making a comment to the effect of: “To get (chest) deep pow shots you just need to be on your edges.”
“Luckily I fell 20-25 (feet) into a fluffy pile of snow,” he wrote on Facebook. “So thankful that I was not hurt.”
Beckton said he waited to report the incident until the end of his snowboarding day because he did not want to waste all of the fresh snow that had fallen overnight.
Authorities linked Proesel to the case after reviewing surveillance camera footage from the ski area and through interviews with Beckton, according to an arrest warrant.
Proesel,when asked about the incident, made nonsensical remarks to investigators and referenced terrorism, investigators said in the warrant.
“I’m just scared,” Proesel said, according to court records. “I don’t know what is going on.”
A third man who was riding on the chairlift with Proesel and Beckton said what happened between the two was “a blatant push.” A doctor told investigators Beckton could have been seriously injured or even killed by the fall, the warrant says.
The Aspen Times reports Proesel is being taken to a Tennessee residential treatment facility by family members as he awaits his next hearing.
