The body of a Durango woman reported missing earlier this month was found Thursday on the Colorado Trail.
Members of a family-organized search party found Jacquline Chavez’s body about 11 a.m., about 0.3 miles from the trailhead on Junction Creek Road (County Road 204), said Chris Burke, spokesman for the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office.
Burke said deputies and La Plata County Search and Rescue members arrived at the scene about 12:20 p.m. after a member of the search party called 911 to report the discovery.
La Plata County Coroner Jann Smith said the body was positively identified at the scene, but the cause of death had yet to be determined.
Burke said any additional information regarding the cause of death would likely be released after an autopsy scheduled for Tuesday.
Chavez, 49, was initially reported missing on Feb. 26 after her family members called the Durango Police Department upon finding her car abandoned at the trailhead off Junction Creek Road.
In an online update, the Durango Police Department said officers requested La Plata County Search and Rescue take over the search for Chavez when they arrived at her car and found no trace of her in the immediate area.
Later that day, Chavez was found by the Search and Rescue team members and her family in an undisclosed area of the trail. During the interaction, Chavez told them that she wanted to be left alone.
On March 1, Chavez was reported missing again after hikers found a backpack belonging to her on the Colorado Trail, about 2 miles from the Junction Creek parking lot.
The case was eventually transferred to the Sheriff’s Office.
jbowman@durangoherald.com
