Colorado woman killed in ATV accident

PARK COUNTY, Colo. – A Conifer woman died after an ATV accident in the backcountry this week.

Park County Search and Rescue said on social media that its team members began search and recovery efforts in the Pike National Forest early Wednesday morning, along with members of several other agencies. Crews climbed “steep and treacherous terrain” in search of the crash site, they said.

Teams worked day and night to find her, the social media post said, and found her Thursday morning. The Park County Coroner's Office identified her as 60-year-old Shelley Ekstrom of Conifer. They determined she had died in an ATV accident Tuesday evening.

According to the Lafayette-based nonprofit Justice Takes Flight, Ekstrom and a neighbor had left their homes on Tuesday. Her neighbor was found alive on Wednesday.

The group said on social media that Ekstrom was a veterinarian. The website of her previous practice, Indian Tree Animal Hospital in Arvada, states that Ekstrom began her veterinary career in the Texas equine industry before switching to small animal medicine and moving to Colorado, where she enjoyed outdoor activities such as hiking in the mountains and Enjoyed motorcycling. She was also an enthusiastic bronze sculptor.