Colorado Town Mourns Deaths of 2 Hikers

Residents were mourning the deaths of two young boys whose bodies were found in the wilderness as authorities on Friday gave up their search for the man who was hiking with them.

The boys’ bodies were found Thursday, huddled side by side on a snowy ridge about 700 feet from a campsite. They died of hypothermia--there was no sign of blunt trauma or serious injury.

Authorities had scoured the Tanner Peak area for four days for signs of Drew Naylor, 11, and his friend Josef Lippincott, 10. They had not been seen since Saturday, when they left for a short hike with Drew’s stepfather, Troy Tilley, 27.

A nationwide search was launched for Tilley, but was called off on Friday.

“There is still no trace at this time of Mr. Tilley,” said Fremont County Sheriff Dale Rea. “I’m not going to draw any conclusions from that.”

Rea said the search was not part of a criminal investigation.

Mark Lippincott, Josef’s father, said he had no second thoughts about his son being with Tilley.

“I love Troy,” he said. “I know Troy very well, and I would not change the circumstances of my son being with Troy. ... He’s in trouble, I think. Troy would have done what he had to do to protect the boys.”

Lippincott said he has known Tilley for two years and said they coached a junior football league together. Their sons were teammates.

“It’s just sad ... Not really knowing,” said Dottie Hamilton, whose daughter Brittany was in Drew’s fifth-grade class.