ASPEN—A district court Judge recently sided with the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office over the denial of a records request concerning a deceased elderly hiker, due to the man’s status as an “at-risk” adult.
In early October 2024, a 78-year-old man was found dead on the Conundrum Creek Trail near Aspen, roughly one mile from the trailhead. Investigators say a relative of the deceased man told them he was suffering from pre-dementia, and when found officials noted he had not brought any food, water, or extra-clothing with him on the 17-mile roundtrip hike.
EWU Media, a production company, requested reports, bodycam footage, and photographs related to the hiker’s death from the sheriff’s office for a digital media Investigative piece. The request was made on Dec. 31 and was twice denied (on Jan. 2 and Feb. 18) by records custodian, Charles Matthews, citing the state’s “at-risk adult” statute regarding information disclosure.
According to Colorado Adult Protective Services, an “at-risk adult” is someone 18 years or older who is “unable to provide or obtain services necessary for their health, safety, and welfare OR who lack the capacity to make or understand responsible decisions.”
Matthew’s denial states that “Disclosure of a report of the mistreatment or self-neglect of an at-risk adult and information relating to an investigation of such a report and subsequent cases resulting from the report is permitted only when authorized by a court for good cause.”
Pitkin County argued the man fit this description due to his unpreparedness for the trail and mental state.
Jeff Roberts, executive director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition (CFOIC), notes they did not use the typical reasons law enforcement gives for such denials, such as privacy interests or an ongoing investigation. “Here what they cited was a specific statute that they said actually did not allow the release of these records, and the judge agreed with that,” Roberts told Complete Colorado.
EWU Media attorneys, for their part, unsuccessfully argued that the records requested were releasable under the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act, and that Matthews’ citation did not apply.
Roberts says a case like this is unusual, and in his 12 years with CFOIC, he has never seen a denial quite like this.
“It’s difficult to challenge a denial of records under the Colorado Criminal Justice Act,” said Roberts. “A lot of records can be withheld if the law enforcement agency decides that disclosure would be contrary to the public interest. Another reason for withholding records is if the inspection would be contrary to another state statute, and that is the reasoning they used in this case.”
Ultimately, 9th Judicial District Judge Denise Lynch agreed with Mathews’ reasoning, ruling the records should not be disclosed as the elderly hiker’s mental state and lack of preparedness proved to the court that he was an at-risk adult.
