Body of missing local man found in Eagle River

The Eagle County Sheriff’s Office on Monday put out the following press release on a missing local man found dead in the Eagle River:

Late Sunday afternoon, November 24, 2019, a missing local man was found deceased near the Eagle River in Edwards. Rescue operations were immediately called to the river after a massive cooperative search effort was launched with our partner agencies.  The body of long-time local, Joseph A. Viola, age 54 was safely recovered from the river and an investigation into his death is underway. 

Multiple agencies were involved in the search efforts and retrieval of the body including the Eagle River Fire Protection District, Vail Mountain Rescue Group, Eagle County Paramedics, Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, Eagle County Coroner’s Office, Colorado State Patrol, Avon Police Department, Eagle Police Department, ECO Transit and the Vail Public Safety Communications Center.

Efforts to identify the cause of death are being led by the Eagle County Coroner’s Office. Foul play has not been ruled out at this time.  We would like to assure the community that there is no ongoing threat and thank those who may have been concerned by the activities for their understanding and patience while we investigate.

If you think you may have any information about this incident, please call the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office at (970) 328-8500 or Eagle County Crime Stoppers at 970-328-7007, 1-800-972-TIPS, submit your tip online at www.tipsubmit.com, or text a tip from your cell phone by texting STOPCRIME plus your message to CRIMES (274637).  If your tip leads to the arrest and indictment of any suspect involved, you could earn up to a $1,000 reward from Crime Stoppers.