Hiker Killed in Suspected Cougar Attack Near Estes Park

A woman hiking alone on the Crosier Mountain trail, on national forest land south of Glen Haven, Colorado, was killed in a suspected mountain-lion attack shortly before noon on Thursday, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said. The remote site is about 7 miles northeast of Estes Park, the gateway to the eastern entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Two other hikers found the woman and encountered a mountain lion near her body, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman Kara Van Hoose. The hikers threw rocks to try to drive the animal away. One of those hikers, identified by officials as a physician, rendered aid but did not find a pulse. Details of the victim’s injuries and the official cause of death have not been released; the Larimer County coroner’s office is expected to release the victim’s identity and cause of death.

Later the same day, wildlife officers located and fatally shot two mountain lions in the area, officials said. Colorado Parks and Wildlife stated its search for additional animals was ongoing and that any further lethal action would depend on the circumstances surrounding any animals found. Forensic testing and necropsies have not yet been released, and officials have not confirmed that the two cougars shot were responsible for the attack.

If confirmed, the incident would be Colorado’s first fatal mountain-lion attack in more than 25 years. Historical accounts point to suspected fatal attacks in the late 1990s, including a 1997 incident in Rocky Mountain National Park and a 1999 death of a 3-year-old, underscoring the rarity of fatal encounters with cougars. A fatal mountain-lion attack in Northern California in 2025 also drew national attention to the risks of human-wildlife conflict and the management choices that follow.

The incident raises immediate public-safety and wildlife-management questions for officials and for communities that depend on outdoor recreation. Estes Park and surrounding areas rely heavily on visitation to national forest trails and Rocky Mountain National Park; even rare events like this can alter trail usage, prompt temporary closures, and spur calls for increased monitoring. Colorado Parks and Wildlife faces a familiar trade-off between protecting people and conserving a wide-ranging predator: removing animals after attacks reduces short-term risk but may not resolve underlying drivers of conflict, such as habitat overlap and seasonal prey movements.

Authorities will look to necropsy results and forensic evidence to link the slain animals to the attack before drawing further conclusions. Those findings will also inform whether additional animals will be euthanized and whether managers should change protocols for response, public warnings, or trail access during ongoing searches.

For now, the tragedy is a reminder of both the rarity and the seriousness of mountain-lion attacks. Officials urged caution on trails in lion country and said they would release more information as investigations and coroner procedures are completed.