Hikers in Colorado on Thursday found a dead woman on the Crosier Mountain Trail from what officials believe was a mountain lion attack, after a mountain lion was spotted near the woman.

The hikers reportedly found the mountain lion lying next to the woman in a protective manner, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said, according to the Washington Times. The hikers threw rocks to scare the mountain lion away and then attempted to find a pulse on the woman, but were not able to detect one.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife responded to the scene and found a mountain lion nearby, which they shot and killed in line with their policies. A second mountain lion was killed shortly after, because officers were not sure which cat attacked the woman. 

It was not clear if the woman had any bite or claw marks and the Larimer County Coroner’s Office is working to identify the cause of death for the woman, who has not been publicly identified so far.

If it is determined that the woman was killed by an animal, it would mark the first death by a mountain lion in the state since 1999. There have been 28 documented cases of mountain lion attacks as a whole in the state since 1990.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.