A 40 year-old man hailing from Phoenix, NY was found dead in Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve on Monday after over a month of searching proved unsuccessful. Turns out the same man went missing in the exact same park just three months prior but was successfully rescued. This time, he wasn’t so lucky.
According to Syracuse.com, 40 year-old Bryan Skilinski got lost for the second time at the national park in May and a subsequent search + rescue effort was launched shortly after park officials found his car in a picnic area without an overnight permit. Adverse weather and deep snow conditions hampered that search and until this past Monday, Skilinski’s whereabouts remained unknown.
“Due to deep, heavy snow at lower elevations the area that Skilinski was located had not been searched by teams.” – NPS
On Monday, officials found the missing man’s body in an area that had been chock full of snow back in May. In February, the same snow caused Skilinski to fall into a state of panic and bewilderment. He later made it to a trail where he was ultimately rescued but getting lost a second time proved fatal. The specific cause of death is still uncertain.
Find the entire Syracuse.com article here:Â Central NY man found dead in same national park he was rescued from 4 months ago