Denver man made a surprising discovery while hiking in Colorado’s newest monument…a landmine. FOX31 reports the man found the landmine in a forest near Camp Hale on July 20th. He kept his distance, snapped some photos, documented his coordinates and contacted the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office.
An explosive ordinance disposal team from Fort Carson responded and determined the landmine was a training device. These types of training devices can still be dangerous, especially if they are tampered with. The device was destroyed.
The landmine was left behind from training practices for the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division. Camp Hale used to be a training ground for thousands of troops in the 10th Mountain Division during World War II where soldiers trained to ski and navigate high country.
80 years have passed since Camp Hale was a hotbed mountain warfare training but the sheriff’s office has warned hikers in the area to be aware of their surroundings as more of these may turn up.
EAGLE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE STATEMENT:
Last month on July 20, 2023, the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office received information about a landmine located in the forest near Camp Hale.
A hiker from the Denver area had been hiking the Camp Hale area. While hiking he located, what he believed to be, an old training landmine. The hiker took special care to photograph and document the location of the landmine. He also took care to stay clear and not tamper with the landmine.
After receiving this information, the specialized EOD Team from Fort Carson was deployed. The Team located and destroyed the device. The Team wanted to relay that even training devices can be dangerous and could cause serious injury or death if tampered with.
The Team explained that this device was left behind from the training day of the 10th Mountain Division that was stationed at Camp Hale.
The Eagle County Sheriff’s Office would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone hiking in the area of Camp Hale to be aware of your surroundings. We know there was a great effort on the part of the U.S. Army to sweep and clear the area of any dangers. However, as the years go by, we have received reports of leftover equipment at Camp Hale.
Should you ever locate any suspicious item, please document your location and contact the Sheriff’s Office as soon as possible.
U.S. Forest Service – White River National Forest
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