Kristen Marie Kovatch Obituary, Death; – The woman who was killed in a mountain lion attack in Larimer County last week has been identified.
Kristen Marie Kovatch, 46, from Fort Collins, was identified by the Larimer County Coroner’s Office on Monday afternoon.
She was killed after Colorado Parks and Wildlife said hikers on the Crosier Mountain trail saw a mountain lion near a person lying on the ground from about 100 yards away at around 12:15 p.m. on Jan. 1. The Crosier Mountain Trail is located south of Glen Haven, east of Estes Park.
The witnesses scared the animal away by throwing rocks at it, CPW said. One of the witnesses, who was a physician, checked Kovatch for a pulse but did not find one.
The Larimer County Coroner’s Office said the injuries found on Kovatch were consistent with a mountain lion attack and ruled the cause of death as asphyxia due to external neck compression.
An extensive search of the area from the ground and air found two mountain lions that were then euthanized. CPW said it is unknown whether one or both of them were involved in the suspected attack, but their policy is that wildlife involved in attacks on humans must be euthanized to ensure public safety.
Trails in the area are closed for several days, but have since reopened. CPW said wildlife officers are looking for a third mountain lion.
CPW said pathologists will perform necropsies to find any abnormalities or neurological disorders in the lions. They will also test them for human DNA.
Mountain lion attacks on humans are rare in Colorado, CPW said, with 28 previous attacks reported to the agency since 1990. The last fatal one was in 1999.
