A search team on Wednesday discovered human remains in an area of the Gunnison National Forest where the pack of a missing woman was recently found by hunters.
Investigators believe the remains are those of Sherri Ahlbrandt, a Littleton woman who went missing in the area in August, but the identity has not yet been positively confirmed.
“This discovery, relative to the location of the waist pack, would indicate the remains may be those of Ms. Ahlbrandt,” said Marjorie Trautman, a Mount Crested Butte Police Department spokeswoman. “However, this information is not, yet, confirmed as the search team is still in the field.”
The search team, made up of four members of Crested Butte Search and Rescue and six members of the Western State Colorado University Search and Rescue, found the remains at about 12:45 p.m. in the rugged Middle Anthracite Creek area.
A hunter had found a pack belonging to Ahlbrandt on Oct. 18, prompting the latest search.
Searchers reached the area Wednesday morning via Erickson Springs, about a 2,000-foot gain in elevation over a five-mile hike.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822, knicholson@denverpost.com or twitter.com/kierannicholson