Suspicious Odor Hospitalizes Students and Teacher

A suspicious odor at a western Colorado elementary school hospitalized 22 students and a teacher and forced everyone in the building to leave and finish the day at another school.

Garfield County school district officials say five remained hospitalized as of late Thursday afternoon. District spokeswoman Theresa Hamilton says investigators don’t know the cause for the odor but that it doesn’t appear to be natural gas or carbon monoxide. Hamilton says food poisoning doesn’t appear to be the reason for the illnesses, either.

The odor at Graham Mesa Elementary in Rifle was reported to the Rifle Fire Protection District at 11:45 a.m. Thursday. Students and staff who were not hospitalized finished the day at Wamsley Elementary.

Hamilton says classes at Graham Mesa Elementary were canceled for Friday.