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Sheriff's Office: 'No Threat To The Public' After Snowboarder Pushed From Chairlift

ASPEN, Colo. (CBS4) - The Pitkin County Sheriff's Office said on Thursday there is no threat to the public after a snowboarder claimed he was pushed off a chairlift by a skier at Aspen Highlands Sunday morning.

The snowboarder, Seth Beckton, 28, of Aspen, posted a warning on his Facebook page.

"Be on the lookout for a skier chucking snowboarders off chairlifts. Yes, this is real ... Happened to me today while having a seemingly normal conversation riding up Loge chair at Highlands about (powder) when I made this comment 'to get (expletive) deep (powder) shots you just need to be on your edges,'" Beckton posted.

Seth Beckton
Seth Beckton (credit: Seth Beckton/Facebook)

Beckton claims that after making the comment the skier, who he said was a white man in his late 20s or early 30s, took offense.

"He replied, 'Are you laughing at me?' Me 'Kind of ... yes??' 'Well is this funny?' … he then proceeded to push/pull me off the chair," Beckton said on Facebook.

Beckton said he fell face-first approximately 20 to 25 feet and luckily landed in "a fluffy pile of snow."

Beckton said since he wasn't injured he didn't immediately report the incident and continued to ride and kept a lookout for the skier.

According to the Aspen Times, after Breckton talked with some friends about the incident he realized how serious it was and reported it later in the day.

"I should have been more aggressive in reporting it," Beckton told the Aspen Times. "What if he does it to somebody else?"

The Pitkin County Sheriff's Office was made aware of an incident on Monday.

"Deputies from the Pitkin County Sheriff's Office met with staff from the Aspen Skiing Company and the victim," Deputy Alex Burchetta said in a statement. "During those meetings the victim and staff from the Aspen Skiing Company assisted deputies from the Pitkin County Sheriff's Office in identifying the alleged suspect."

Burchetta said deputies met with the alleged suspect on Wednesday.

"At this time no further information is available as to the identity of the suspect. The suspect has not been charged with a violation of any Colorado criminal statute. This case remains an open and active investigation and as such not all information regarding the incident will be made available," Burchetta said. "The Pitkin County Sheriff's Office wishes to inform and reinforce to the community that there is no threat to the public at this time with regard to this incident."

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