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Runner fought off mountain lion with stick just weeks before fatal attack on same Colorado trail
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Weeks before a hiker was killed in a suspected mountain lion attack in Colorado, a man was nearly attacked by another big cat on the same trail.
Gary Messina said he was rushed by a mountain lion while running along the same northern Colorado trail on a dark morning in November.
Messina said he threw his phone at the animal while it kept circling behind him and was able to get away after a couple of minutes when he broke a stick off of a log and hit the mountain lion over the head with it.
“I had to fight it off because it was basically trying to maul me,” Messina told The Associated Press. “I was scared for my life, and I wasn’t able to escape. I tried backing up, and it would try to lunge at me.”
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A mountain lion at the Wildlife Rescue Center in Alajuela, Costa Rica, Sept. 16, 2024. (Ezequiel Becerra/AFP via Getty Images)
A woman who was found dead on the same trail on New Year’s Day had “wounds consistent with a mountain lion attack,” a Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman said.
“Around 12:15 this afternoon, hikers on the Crosier Mountain trail in Larimer County observed a mountain lion near a person lying on the ground from about 100 yards away,” Kara Van Hoose said during a news conference Thursday.
After the suspected attack, wildlife officials killed two mountain lions and are searching for a third to determine if the animal had rabies or another disease.
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The attack was the first suspected fatal mountain lion mauling in more than 25 years, with the last one occurring in 1999.
This photo provided by Gary Messina shows a mountain lion in the brush between two trees along the Crosier Mountain trail in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests near Glen Haven, Colo., Nov 11, 2025. (Gary Messina via AP)
Messina said he reported his incident days later, and officials posted warning signs about mountain lions that were later taken down.
He said he believes the animal that attacked him may have been the same one that killed the New Year’s hiker.
Mountain lion sightings in that area of Rocky Mountains National Park are common, but the animals are rarely aggressive.
The New Year’s Day attack would be the fourth fatal one in North America in the last decade and the 30th since 1868, according to the Mountain Lion Foundation.
“As more people live, work and recreate in areas that overlap wildlife habitat, interactions can increase, not because mountain lions are becoming more aggressive, but because overlap is growing,” the organization’s chief conservation officer, Byron Weckworth, said.
Authorities suspect a lone woman hiker in Colorado was killed in a rare mountain lion attack on New Year’s Day. (AP Digital Embed)
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To avoid risk of an attack, experts tell nature seekers to avoid dawn and dusk, when mountain lions are most active and to travel in groups.
During an encounter, experts suggest maintaining eye contact with the animal, trying to appear as large as possible, slowly backing away without turning your back on the animal and not running.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Past Montana State football players meet with current Bobcats during a team walk-through at the indoor practice facility at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.Kyle Hansen / MTN Sports
Past Montana State football players meet with current Bobcats during a team walk-through at the indoor practice facility at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.Kyle Hansen / MTN Sports
Past Montana State football players meet with current Bobcats during a team walk-through at the indoor practice facility at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.Kyle Hansen / MTN Sports
Past Montana State football players meet with current Bobcats during a team walk-through at the indoor practice facility at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.Kyle Hansen / MTN Sports
Past Montana State football players meet with current Bobcats during a team walk-through at the indoor practice facility at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.Kyle Hansen / MTN Sports
Past Montana State football players meet with current Bobcats during a team walk-through at the indoor practice facility at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.Kyle Hansen / MTN Sports
Past Montana State football players meet with current Bobcats during a team walk-through at the indoor practice facility at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.Kyle Hansen / MTN Sports
Past Montana State football players meet with current Bobcats during a team walk-through at the indoor practice facility at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.Kyle Hansen / MTN Sports
Past Montana State football players meet with current Bobcats during a team walk-through at the indoor practice facility at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.Kyle Hansen / MTN Sports
Past Montana State football players meet with current Bobcats during a team walk-through at the indoor practice facility at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.Kyle Hansen / MTN Sports
Past Montana State football players meet with current Bobcats during a team walk-through at the indoor practice facility at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.Kyle Hansen / MTN Sports
Past Montana State football players meet with current Bobcats during a team walk-through at the indoor practice facility at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.Kyle Hansen / MTN Sports
Past Montana State football players meet with current Bobcats during a team walk-through at the indoor practice facility at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.Kyle Hansen / MTN Sports
Past Montana State football players meet with current Bobcats during a team walk-through at the indoor practice facility at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.Kyle Hansen / MTN Sports
Past Montana State football players meet with current Bobcats during a team walk-through at the indoor practice facility at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.Kyle Hansen / MTN Sports
Past Montana State football players meet with current Bobcats during a team walk-through at the indoor practice facility at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.Kyle Hansen / MTN Sports
Past Montana State football players meet with current Bobcats during a team walk-through at the indoor practice facility at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.Kyle Hansen / MTN Sports
Past Montana State football players meet with current Bobcats during a team walk-through at the indoor practice facility at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.Kyle Hansen / MTN Sports
Past Montana State football players meet with current Bobcats during a team walk-through at the indoor practice facility at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.Kyle Hansen / MTN Sports
Past Montana State football players meet with current Bobcats during a team walk-through at the indoor practice facility at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.Kyle Hansen / MTN Sports
Past Montana State football players meet with current Bobcats during a team walk-through at the indoor practice facility at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.Kyle Hansen / MTN Sports
Both directions of Interstate 80 are being redirected over Donner Summit due to slick roads and multiple spin-outs. Authorities have not provided an estimated time for reopening the highway.
This is a developing story. Please check back with us for updates.
After Lance St. Louis served as the starting long snapper for the Texas Longhorns for four seasons, special teams coordinator Jeff Banks landed an experienced replacement when New Mexico Lobos transfer Trey Dubuc pledged while on a visit to the Forty Acres.
The pledge from Dubuc ensures that Texas has experienced replacements for three specialists despite signing high school prospects at each position — with the SEC expanding to 105 scholarships in 2026, Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian can afford to develop high school recruits at those positions behind experienced transfers like Dubuc.
The Fort Lauderdale product started his career at USF after playing on two state championship teams at Cardinal Gibbons. A 6’1, 209-pounder, Dubuc redshirted during his freshman season in 2023 before appearing in one game as the backup long snapper the following year.
After transferring to New Mexico, Dubuc served as the starting long snapper while making two tackles for the Lobos.
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