Press releases
Coroner’s office current press releases
Date: October 30, 2023
Subject: October 28, 2023, death investigation at the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, Glenwood Springs, CO.
Identity of deceased: Diego Barajas Medina, 20-year-old male, resident of Carbondale, CO.
On October 29, 2023, at approximately 9:05 a.m., the Garfield County Coroner’s Office was dispatched to the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park for a report of a death investigation in a restroom of the adventure park. Upon arrival, coroner’s office investigators learned the decedent was found with a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound of the head and that there were possible explosives near the decedent. At this time, both law enforcement and coroner’s office investigators secured the area and waited for the Grand Junction Bomb Squad to make the scene safe. On October 29, 2023, at approximately 4:30 p.m., the scene was deemed safe and the coroner’s office was able to recover the decedent.
On October 30, 2023, the coroner’s office contract forensic pathologist performed an autopsy of the decedent. The decedent had a single gunshot wound of the head. The scene investigation and the forensic autopsy suggest that the decedent died by suicide and the coroner’s office is investigating the manner of death as a suicide.
Please note, that in all death investigations the final certification on cause and manner of death comes at the conclusion of a death investigation in conjunction with the law enforcement investigation. Should the manner of death investigation change from a suicide investigation, the coroner’s office will provide an updated press release.
Please practice safe reporting guidelines from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention on reporting suicide-related death investigations.
Respectfully,
Robert M. Glassmire
Garfield County Coroner