Authorities hope to ID body found near ski resort

By The AP
Thursday, March 21, 2013

ASPEN — Authorities are trying to identify the body of a man found in an area just out of bounds of the Highland Bowl at Aspen Highlands, where a skier had been reported missing earlier this month.

The person’s identity wasn’t immediately confirmed, but sheriff’s officials say the body appears to be dressed in what 55-year-old Aspen resident and wine consultant Jeff Walker was wearing when he was last seen hiking the Highland Bowl on March 7.

Friends said he was an expert skier who frequently skied Highland Bowl.

Aspen Skiing Co. spokesman Jeff Hanle says ski patrollers confirmed a body was in the area and called Pitkin County sheriff’s officials, who plan to remove the body Thursday.