Rangers recovered the body of a 35-year-old female from Loveland, Colorado, just west of Martha’s Couloir on Mount Lady Washington in Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, on Thursday. The deceased was later identified as Ashley Haarmann an off-duty Boulder police officer who had fallen 200-feet.
Park rangers were notified by a family member that they had received information via a satellite communication device of an emergency. Rocky Mountain National Park Search and Rescue team members arrived on the scene via ground at 4:45 p.m. and were aided with aerial search efforts by Mesa Verde Interagency Helitak crew, assigned to the Morgan Creek Fire near Steamboat Springs.
The victim’s body was flown at approximately 8:15 pm via a long line operation to the Upper Beaver Meadows helipad where she was transferred to the Boulder County Coroner’s office.
“Our department is again mourning the loss of a friend, coworker, and dedicated public servant. Ashley was doing something she loved yesterday, and though it’s not much, I hope we can take some solace in that.”
– Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold
Mount Lady Washington (13,281′) is located next to Longs Peak (14,259′), and is one of three peaks that form the Chasm Lake cirque (Mt Meeker, Longs Peak and Mount Lady Washington).