Body of missing man found by a hunter

A hunter over the weekend found the remains of a Fremont County man who had been missing for nearly a month.

Gary Lorenz, 63, was last seen Sept. 24 when he went to feed livestock on his property in Cotopaxi, west of Cañon City.

An Air Force Academy graduate and retired colonel, Lorenz had Alzheimer’s disease.

He was found Saturday by a Texas hunter about eight miles from Lorenz’s 180-acre ranch, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office said Monday.

A search involving hundreds of volunteers, tracking dogs and several aircraft lasted more than two weeks after family members reported Lorenz missing. A few volunteers continued searching until the body was found.

Family members had hoped that Lorenz’s extensive Air Force survival training would help him in his ordeal and that the two dogs who disappeared with him would help him keep warm.

The dogs were found near his body in good condition.

“They must have loved him a lot to stay with him for that long,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Andrea Cooper said.

The dogs reportedly were friendly when deputies approached and have been returned to Lorenz’s family.

The Sheriff’s Office said Lorenz likely survived for about four days in the wilderness before succumbing to exposure.

He was found in mountainous terrain so steep that searchers had relied on helicopters and dogs to examine it during the hunt for Lorenz.

Cooper said the body was found in an area that wouldn’t have been visible from the air.

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