Andrew Porter was elk hunting when lightning struck
Andrew Porter of Asheville, NC was killed by a lightning strike to the ground during an elk hunt in Colorado. The 25-year-old was found a week after his family reported him missing.
Authorities found Porter with slight burns under a tree. His hunting partner, Ian Stasko met the same fate, and was found next to Porter.
According to Conejos County coroner Richard Martin, neither of the hunters were directly struck by lightning. Instead, lightning struck the ground, but the two men were close enough to be electrocuted.
The bodies of the hunters were found by Colorado Search and Rescue Association on Sept. 18 after a 6-day search involving numerous other agencies and hundreds of volunteers.
Martin said the two hunters likely did not feel a thing.
“That kind of death is just instant,” he said. “It’s like you’re alive and now you’re not. It’s just that quick. A split second.”
Porter’s fiance Bridget Murphy said she’s angry at the mountain and the storms that took the hunter too soon, but takes comfort in knowing he died while doing something he loved.
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