Search for "suspicious person" called off near popular leaf-peeping area in Clear Creek County

Law enforcement has called off a search for what they described as a "suspicious person" near a popular leaf-peeping area in Colorado after investigators say the person was fishing while wearing camouflage and a mask with a rifle.

The Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office posted the alert at 11:40 a.m. and said the search was near mile marker 15 on Guanella Pass Road. By around 1:20 p.m., the sheriff's office said the incident was "resolved."

"There is no threat in the area of Naylor Lake/Silver Dollar Lake Trail on Guanella Pass. We had multiple reports of a man wearing camo and a mask, carrying a high-powered rifle. When we made contact with the man, we learned he was there to fish. He was in military-grade camouflage, wearing a balaclava, and he did have a rifle. However, this is not illegal," the sheriff's office said in a social media post. "We gave him a courtesy ride back to his vehicle at the trailhead. We appreciate hikers in the area who saw something and said something."

Guanella Pass is a popular mountain pass for leaf-peeping -- or residents and visitors seeing and photographing the changing leaf colors in the fall -- about 50 miles west of Denver. The 23-mile pass connects Georgetown at the north to Grant at the south and sits at over 11,000 feet in elevation.

The Silver Dollar Lake trailhead leads to both Silver Dollar Lake and Naylor Lake, and is about 11 miles west of Georgetown.