Skeletal remains found in Vail’s Back Bowls may be missing Chinese man

The Eagle County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday reported that skeletal remains were found in Vail’s Back Bowls — possibly the remains of a Chinese man missing since last winter.

Yunlong Chen has been missing since last February when he was last seen at the Vail Transportation Center and then had his pass scanned at Gondola One.

Here’s a press release from the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday:

Today’s search efforts resulted in locating what is believed to be skeletal remains. The remains were located in the back bowls area of Vail Mountain. This incident is currently under investigation. Items found at the scene are consistent with those described by Mr. Chen’s family to have been with him at the time that he was last seen.

Several teams worked diligently on today’s search. It was a collaborative effort between Vail Mountain Rescue Group, Vail Ski Patrol, Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, Eagle County Government, Vail Resorts, El Paso County Search and Rescue Group, Mesa County Search and Rescue Group, Chaffiee County Search and Rescue Group, Summit County Search and Rescue Group, Boulder Rescue Squad, Eagle County Coroner’s Office, Colorado Search and Rescue Association, Front Rand Rescue Dogs, Search and Rescue Dogs of Colorado, Eagle County Paramedic Services and The Vail Public Safety Communications Center.

The Eagle County Coroner’s Office will be handling the investigation to positively identify the remains and the cause of death.