Crime & Safety
UPDATE: Found Skull ID'ed
Remains found by Labor Day hikers identified as belonging to Boulder man missing since 2011.
The Boulder County Coroner has identified the skull found by two hikers near Brainard Lake on Labor Day as belonging to Ernest Macauley, a man missing since September 28, 2011 who would have been 79 years old. According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation's missing person report, avid hiker Macauley was last seen with an aluminum trekking pole, and his car was found by the Long Lake Trailhead. It was later determined that Macauley may have been suicidal.
According to the Daily Camera, Boulder County Sheriff's Office Cmdr. Mike Wagner confirmed the identity of the skull's owner on Saturday night. The sheriff's office undertook an "extensive" search for Macauley in 2011 after his disappearance.
Two hikers found a skull while walking in the Brainard Lake area last Monday. Representatives from the Sheriff's office later returned with hikers. Though initially unable to re-locate the site, they were later able to find more remains.
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The Coroner's Office is continuing to investigate the circumstances of Macauley's death.
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