Garfield County officials identify man killed in Bear Lake drowning incident

Garfield County Coroner Robert Glassmire has released the identity of the man whose body was recovered Sunday evening from beneath a Bear River overflow near Bear Lake Campground.

In a news release Wednesday, Glassmire identified the deceased as 46-year-old Jerry Whaley of Elbert; his death is being investigated as an accident.

“The Garfield County Coroner’s Office extends its condolences to the family of Mr. Whaley,” Glassmire said in the statement. “We are also grateful for the response, expertise and leadership of Routt County Search and Rescue, Yampa Fire Protection District, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Routt County Sheriff’s Office and the other citizens who offered their assistance.”

Shortly after 1 p.m. Sunday, the coroner’s office received a call reporting that a man had jumped over the Bear Lake Reservoir spillway and was found dead downstream.

“Witnesses stated that the deceased was on a private pontoon boat and the wind gusts increased in strength and drove the deceased and his boat toward the spillway,” the medical examiner’s statement said, adding that Whaley “was not wearing a flotation device or helmet.”

Bear Lake is located 11 miles west of Yampa in eastern Garfield County. The area is accessible via Routt County Road 7, which becomes Forest Service Road 900. There is limited cell phone reception in the area.

Although the area is located in Garfield County, an existing agreement with the Routt County Sheriff’s Office prompted a local response as the area is more quickly accessible from South Routt.

Bear Lake is one of three interconnected reservoirs in the area and is fed by Stillwater Reservoir. Its spillway, which has no barriers, flows into the Bear River, which is connected to Yamcolo Reservoir.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife owns the water and overflow of Bear Lake, but not the land surrounding the lake, which is managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

A CPW spokesman said the agency owns and operates 120 dams and spillways across the state and that they generally have no barriers.

“The spillway pipes of these types of structures are all open (i.e. the spillway is not mechanically controlled),” the spokesperson said. “Clogging a spillway pipe with a net or other barrier can be dangerous for these types of dams as it will impede flow and block the spillway pipe.”

The Garfield County Coroner’s statement said recovery efforts proved difficult due to “whitewater rapids approximately 1,050 feet from the spillway.”

“In addition, it was difficult to climb up and down the embankments on both sides of the Bear River,” Glassmire’s statement said. “Routt County Search and Rescue, along with members of the coroner’s office, Yampa Fire Protection District, and two members of Colorado Parks & Wildlife, initiated a recovery effort that included installing a zip line with ropes, pulleys, and personnel on both sides of the river.”

The Upper Yampa Water Conservancy District, which manages the dam on the private Stillwater Reservoir, was also involved in the recovery mission.

A water district spokesman said he was contacted by the Routt County Search and Rescue Unit to request that water flow into Bear Lake be reduced so rescue crews could safely conduct the operation.

Routt County search and rescue teams, assisted by members of the Garfield County Search and Rescue Unit, returned to the area Monday to recover Whaley’s pontoon boat and other personal items from the river, Glassmire said.

The CPW spokesman said the agency advises extreme caution when recreationists are on or near dams, especially during spring snowmelt when spillway discharges may be increased.