Officials close Trail Ridge Road for season

Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park officially closed for the season on Monday.

The road will remain closed to through traffic until snowplows reopen it in late May.

“Trail Ridge Road is not designed to be an all-season road, with 11 miles above 11,500 feet, few guard rails and no shoulders,” park spokeswoman Kyle Patterson said in a news release. “Winter conditions of drifting snow, high winds and below- freezing temperatures occur above 10,000 feet.”

She said that if weather permits, Trail Ridge Road will remain open to Rainbow Curve on the east side of the park and to Milner Pass on the west side of the park. Eventually, those closures will move down in elevation for the winter season to Many Parks Curve on the east side and Colorado River Trailhead on the west side.

Patterson said many popular driving destinations remain open, including Bear Lake Road, Moraine Park, Horseshoe Park and the section of Trail Ridge Road along the Kawuneeche Valley. Timed entry permits are no longer required to enter the park.

For more information about Rocky Mountain National Park, visit nps.gov/romo or call the park’s Information Office at 970-586-1206.

Staff reports

By Annie Mehl

An inmate at the Boulder County Jail appears to have hanged himself while awaiting a court appearance Monday.

About 2:40 p.m. Monday, staff with the Boulder County Jail found the inmate, who appeared to have hanged himself inside his cell, according to a news release from the Boulder County

Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies and medical staff performed CPR and used a defibrillator, the release said. They were later joined by paramedics from the Boulder Fire-rescue and American Medical Response of Boulder. First responders worked to revive the inmate for more than 30 minutes. The inmate was pronounced deceased by AMR medics at 3:26 p.m.

The inmate, a 39-year-old man, had been booked Monday into the Boulder County Jail on multiple charges, including first-degree trespass, the release said. He was in his cell by himself for about 20 minutes when staff entered the room and began CPR. He had not given any prior indications that he was experiencing suicidal ideation, therefore he was not on suicide protocol, the release said.

The Boulder County Coroner’s Office and investigators from the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office are continuing to investigate the man’s death, although no foul play is suspected, the release said. The coroner’s office is responsible for determining the official cause and manner of the inmate’s death and will publicly identify him after family notifications are completed.