Two Bodies by the Platte, No Reason to Panic

The first body was found on June 25, the morning of Bike to Work day, stalling -- and stunning -- many bikers pedaling along the Platte, who wound up taking a detour as the body was fished out of the river.. Then on Sunday, July 27, a jogger running in...

By Patricia Calhoun

August 4, 2008

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The first body was found on June 25, the morning of Bike to Work day, stalling -- and stunning -- many bikers pedaling along the Platte, who wound up taking a detour as the body was fished out of the river..

Then on Sunday, July 27, a jogger running in Cuernavaca Park spotted another lifeless body. She alerted a pair of Denver Parks and Recreation maintenance workers, who called the police.

That two bodies were found so close together -- in both time and geography -- worried some park regulars. But according to Sonny Jackson, spokesman from the Denver Police Department, there's no reason to panic.

The Bike-to-Work body was a transient, apparently inebriated, who fell, hit his head, and landed in the river, Jackson says. And the July 27 incident was apparently a suicide.

The identities of the deceased have not yet been released. -- Patricia Calhoun

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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