Watch CBS News

Jeff Deardorff Dies While Climbing Crestone Peak In Sangre De Cristo Mountains

CUSTER COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) -- A man who went hiking in the Sangre De Cristo Wilderness last Friday has been found dead. Several teams with the Custer County Search and Rescue spent three days looking for Jeff Deardorff with an active aerial team.

Missing Crestone Needle Hiker 2 (Jeffrey Deardorff from Custer County SAR on FB)
Jeff Deardorff (credit: Custer County Search and Rescue)

Deardorff summited the Crestone Needle around noon on Friday and then wasn't heard from again. Friends had found his car near the trail head and alerted authorities. A friend told CBS4 that Deardorff fell during the descent.

On Saturday, 9/26/2020, at approximately 2209 hours, Custer County Search and Rescue was notified of a missing climber,...

Posted by Custer County SAR on Monday, September 28, 2020

According to friends Deardorff was an experienced climber who had summited the majority of 14ers in Colorado -- and had also climbed mountains in Mexico and Ecuador.

Missing Crestone Needle Hiker 1 (credit Mark Wefler on FB)
Jeff Deardorff (credit: Mark Wefler)
View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.