Colorado mom, 6-year-old child found dead in Canyonlands National Park in apparent murder-suicide
SAN JUAN COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – Authorities in Utah say they're investigating an apparent murder-suicide after a Colorado mom and her six-year-old son were found dead in Canyonlands National Park on Thursday.
According to the San Juan County Sheriff's Office, at around 8:15 a.m. on Jan. 8, park rangers were notified of a suspicious vehicle parked on the Shafer Trail, in a non-camping area of the park.
When rangers arrived, they found an unresponsive 6-year-old boy inside the vehicle, the sheriff's office said. They performed emergency life-saving measures before the boy was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
The sheriff's office said another person was found dead just outside the vehicle; that person was later confirmed to be the child's mother after an identification through the medical examiner's office.
"Out of respect for the family and the tragedy they are experiencing, we are not releasing the names of the individuals at this time," the sheriff's office said in a release.
Both the mother and the son had been reported missing from Colorado by the husband/father on Wednesday, Jan. 7.
The sheriff's office said at this time, no evidence suggests any ongoing threat to public safety, and the deaths are currently being investigated as a murder-suicide.
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