Remains found in Colorado may be those of missing City High grad

Authorities say they may have found the remains of City High graduate James Nelson 19 months after he went missing while hiking near Vail, Colorado.

According to a press release from the Eagle County Sherriff's department, a person scouting campsites near Holy Cross City found a site the sheriff's department believes to be Nelson's on May 25.

Vail Mountain rescue and detectives from the Eagle County Sheriff's Office hiked to the location on May 26, which led to the recovery of human remains. The remains have been turned over to the Eagle County Coroners office to be analyzed for identification.

The 31-year-old was reported missing by his fiance in Oct. 2010 when he failed to return from a five day, 25 mile hike in the Holy Cross Wilderness area.

Though an experienced hiker, the Nelson family previously told the Gazette that Nelson could have fallen in some open mine shafts along his hiking route.

And though Nelson's sister, Christy Nelson Waters, said the family hopes to gain closure from the discovery, she said the finding has opened a lot of wounds.

“It's a great relief that we have something to the fact that we've been spending a year of trying to figure out if we should file for a death certificate,” Waters said. “It's just been shell-shocking that this could just put everything at ease.”

In addition to remains, the team found a notebook at the campsite that indicated Nelson may have been suffering altitude sickness at the time of his disappearance. The investigation also determined some of his gear is missing, including a camera, GPS unit and a camp stove.

Waters said she was hopeful that the items missing from the campsite had been washed away rather than stolen and unreported, citing record snowfall in 201o around the time of her brother's disappearance. She also said the family had received calls about other items found - ranging from a camera to gum wrappers - but none of them turned out to belong to James.

“I can not understand why some things appear missing,” Waters said. “It's a really popular area many people travel but people know that area and knew what happened and I would hate to think that somebody would just take something and not report it. That is not what a standard hiker does.”

Waters said officials were on the campsite today conducting further searches of the area with a cadaver dog.

Though it may take 30 days before the Nelson family receives confirmation about the remains, Waters said the family plans to bring her brother back to Iowa and hold a memorial for him when he is found to bring closure to his family and friends.

“So many people thought he was a wonderful person. He really touched a lot of people's hearts and hopefully there's closure for everyone, not just his family,” Waters said. “It really sucks we have to wait but in the mean time hopefully we'll know more.”

Volunteer hiking groups continued to search for James Nelson following his disappearance, but Vail Mountain Rescue suspended a formal search for him on April 22, 2012.