Couple surrounded by mountain lions on Northern Colorado trail before fatal attack, "We were going to be eaten"
In the aftermath of a woman's apparent killing by a mountain lion on a trail in Northern Colorado on New Year's Day, several people who have had recent encounters with mountain lions in the area are sharing their stories.
"It's tragic, it's awful, I feel terrible for the family. Obviously, for everyone involved, it's a nightmare situation," said Andrew Dieffenbach of Greeley. "I would say that I wasn't surprised given our situation."
Dieffenbach and Lindsey Jones, who are dating, say they believe they were nearly killed by the same lion or lions that killed a woman near Glen Haven this week.
"We definitely felt we were being hunted," Dieffenbach told CBS News Colorado.
The duo was hiking near Glen Haven on the Crosier Mountain trail after Thanksgiving when Jones noticed a cat was prowling behind her. The couple said the mountain lion crouched below an aspen tree and locked eyes with them.
"We started yelling at it and throwing rocks at it. But when we did that, it started coming toward us. Kind of stalking toward us through the brush. That was obviously quite scary," Dieffenbach said.
"I was in disbelief," Jones said. "I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe this is happening."
Because they were only a few hundred yards away from the top of the mountain, their only option was to try to retreat down the trail by walking out and around the cat. However, that is when they noticed there was more than one lion.
"A second mountain lion appeared, immediately jumped down and started jaunting toward us in an aggressive manner," Dieffenbach said. "(It was) showing teeth, walking sideways and slashing toward us."
The couple recalled running out of rocks and other items to throw at the lions. As they held branches and sticks and yelled, the situation got worse.
"I saw out of the corner of my eye a third cat, a juvenile, that was coming up behind us," Dieffenbach said. "We assumed we were going to be eaten."
Just days later, Kellie Mahoney captured video of at least four mountain lions walking through her property in Glen Haven. Glen Haven, an otherwise quiet town near Estes Park, is where most people begin their hike on Crosier Mountain.
Mahoney has owned her cabin in Glen Haven for ten years and enjoys seeing wildlife like elk, deer and even the occasional bear pass by her property. However, she said she has never seen several mountain lions passing by her property as often as they have recently.
"They're huge," Mahoney said, sharing her security footage with CBS News Colorado.
Mahoney's video shows at least one adult mountain lion and what appears to be several juvenile lions walking across her backyard in the middle of the night. Mahoney believes they are the same mountain lions that attacked and killed a woman this week.
After seeing Mahoney's video, Dieffenbach and Jones said they also believe it's the same lions they encountered. Although she and her family often walk around their property by themselves or even let their dog out without supervision, Mahoney says the recent attack has made her more wary.
"Since the incident, it has really opened my eyes that we are in nature," Mahoney said. "They're there. They see you, but you don't see them. It is frightening. We have to change the way we do things. It is scary."
When Jones learned of the fatal attack, and that it took place on the same trail in which she was surrounded by mountain lions weeks earlier, she said she was reminded of how dangerous the situation she survived actually was.
"Every single hair on my body rose (when I found out someone died). It was not really surprising, given how close we came to being in the same situation," Jones said.
Others have also reported dangerous encounters with mountain lions in the area over the last two months.
Trail runner Gary Messina told CBS Colorado on Thursday that he had to beat back a lion with a branch during a confrontation that lasted several minutes on the Crosier Mountain Trail in November.
Glen Haven resident Mary Crone was out for a walk on October 29 with her dog, Sugar, when she says her dog was attacked and killed.
"My dog was right by my ankle, and I looked at my dog, and within 24 inches there was a big beautiful cat next to me, just walking alongside us," she recalled. "It was just beautiful, and it just stood there. And then instantly, it grabbed my dog by the neck."
The mountain lion did not let go, even as she tried to haze it.
"I picked up rocks and sticks, I was screaming, I was making myself bigger. I was doing everything to get that animal to release my dog, and it just wouldn't do it," said Crone.
She had to flee and seek help. Another lion was spotted only feet from them on a neighbor's security camera. Her 35-pound Wheaton terrier mix was killed, and a neighbor later found some of its remains.
Crone believes a mother and young offspring may have been involved in that attack and the attack that killed the woman on New Year's Day.
In each incident, the people involved said they reached out to Colorado Parks and Wildlife to tell them what happened.
"When we're out there, we're looking for any signs of mountain lions, we're looking for mountain lion activity. And in all of these cases, we weren't able to locate any of the lions," said CPW spokesperson Kara Van Hoose. She explained that mountain lions, "are very hard to locate. And really, we can only do it with dogs, and an extensive search takes a long time, and you have to be sure you're tracking the correct lion."
"We can't say for sure that these are the same ones involved," she explained. "There's not DNA that we could take. There's not something we could pinpoint and say we're absolutely certain. And because lions do move, that lion could be tens of miles away."
CPW did put up additional signs warning of mountain lion activity on some of the area trails. One image taken by Dieffenbach and Jones after their encounter reads, "Mountain lion active in area." That's in addition to the regular signs posted indicating that the animals may be in the area at any time. But Dieffenbach and Jones wish the signs put up after their confrontation were more specific, saying something like 'Two people were pursued by three mountain lions.'
CPW has already euthanized at least two mountain lions in the area since the fatal attack, and was out in the area on Friday looking for a third cougar.
Tests will be completed to see if one or any of the lions were involved in the fatal attack on the woman, as well as testing to see if they had any health issues that would have reduced their fear of humans.
The trailheads for the Crosier Mountain hiking area are currently taped off with law enforcement caution tape, closing them to public access. Signs near the trail encourage people to explore the outdoors with others.
They also say that if someone encounters a mountain lion, make themselves as big as possible. Guidance encourages people to speak loudly, remain calm and slowly back away. However, if a mountain lion attacks, CPW encourages hikers to engage and fight back.