New Memorial Honors Brendan Unitt, Larimer Park Ranger Who Drowned During Windstorm
LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) -- A memorial plaque and cast bronze Ranger hat were dedicated Wednesday in honor of 27-year-old Brendan Unitt, a Larimer County Natural Resources Boat Ranger who drowned at Horsetooth Reservoir in August of 2020.
Unitt, a Marine Corp veteran, had been on the job less than a year.
The plaque and hat sit atop a granite boulder at the Horsetooth Area Information Center at the southwest end of the reservoir.
Unitt is believed to have drowned while attempting to swim out to his boat after a gust of wind blew the craft away from the shoreline that Unitt had deliberately beached it on. Larimer dispatchers had just aired a request to help two citizens in distress following a gust of high wind.
It may have been the same gust of wind that dislodged Unitt's boat from shore.
Based on footprints and other evidence, investigators believe Unitt was on foot patrol in an area of campsites on the west side of Horsetooth when the distress call was aired. It is thought Unitt removed a life jacket that could impede his goal of reaching the boat.
"He likely took off his floatation device because he knew if he got in the water with it, it would auto inflate, disabling him from working to retrieve his boat," Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith days later. "We believe when he took that vest off and when he got in the water, he himself became in distress and eventually was dragged off the shore and pulled under."
Dispatchers and other rangers heard broken radio traffic they believed to be from Unitt but were unable to determine there was an emergency. Other rangers tended the distress call.
Dispatchers received a call at 9:18 p.m. alerting them to an empty Ranger boat on the reservoir's eastern side. The life jacket was also found on the other side of the reservoir.
Winds at the time at the time of the accident were estimated at 30-35 mph.
Searchers recovered the young man's body the next morning.
Unitt graduated from Windsor High School. His family was present for Wednesday's ceremony.
