MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo. – Authorities have recovered a man’s body from debris left by a fast-moving mudslide that swept through a historic town near Colorado Springs, Colo., and crews continued their search Saturday for three people reported missing after the flood.
Lt. Jeff Kramer with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said 53-year-old John Collins of Teller County was found Friday “buried beneath significant amounts of debris” on U.S. Highway 24 in Manitou Springs.
The mudslide closed the highway and flash flooding stranded vehicles in high water Friday night as about 1.3 inches of rain fell in an area burned by the Waldo Canyon Fire last year. Areas burned by wildfires are vulnerable to flash floods because the scorched soil absorbs less water.
Manitou Springs Police Chief Joe Ribeiro said Saturday that crews were looking for three people who were reported missing: 24-year-old Juston Travis, a man identified by neighbors only as Steve and a petite, blond female who was seen in a tree near the floodwaters.
“She was seen near the creek at one moment hanging in a tree and then not seen the next,” Ribeiro said.
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