Found Deceased CO - Adam Gilbertson, 29, Denver, 14 Dec 2017

[dspdenver]

He went to an awful lot of trouble to end up where he was, hiring a Lyft driver to bring him home, then leaving again after? I can't help it, my hinky meter keeps blaring about this.

I also wonder why he would go to that last bar, Syntax? If he had decided to end it, why not post a video from home blowing out a candle? Had he made a bargain with himself that if he went to Syntax and some friends were there, or someone nice talked to him, then he would forget his plan and go home? Had he fantasized/dreamed about that last IG post when he was feeling alone, or was it simply a spur-of-the-moment decision?

Had he been sharing with friends/family any distress or depression not evident in his public postings? That old angsty video from late 2014 or early 2015 about Tess seems to show he would share such thoughts to his friends. From FB, about 85 percent of his mobile upload pics were not public, so he could well have been reaching out to his loved ones if he was unhappy with his life in Denver.

If not, if his strategy was to hold it all in and fix himself, why, at the end, would a smart guy like him not say, "Wait, that didn't work, if this is my last night, let me try something else." None of his friends would have minded being awakened to help him; heck, why not say something to the bartender or just call random numbers to find someone who would listen.

I've heard that sometimes when the suicide decision is made a great calm passes over the person, reinforcing that yes, this is the right thing to do, all the pain is gone now. But with his nurse training, especially in end-of-life situations, if he didn't reach out for help, why not?

And I can't help but think that the east side of the river was not an inviting place to go to, unless he waded across or was attacked from the park side on the west. Those are the only scenarios I can think of, as I don't think an accident is at all likely.

 

[dspdenver]

I have just felt something wasn't right about this- especially where he told the bartender he had just had an argument with someone on his phone.

I don't recall hearing this detail anywhere before. I remember Adam told the Lyft driver he was harassed at Charlie's, got dropped off at his car downtown and drove home, then walked to Syntax where someone said security footage showed him on his phone most of the 15 minutes there, but whether talking, texting or social media-ing, I never heard details. Then he posted his candle video, went to the bathroom and then left the bar.

 

[margarita25]

I had replied to this last night for finding my post, but it seems to be gone, so maybe it violated the TOS here? You can probably search the social media site for current posts to AG if you are on it, but I probably won't duplicate it here.

I saw on the news in Denver that now a family in Texas is asking Coloradans and western staters for help finding Dayne Herndon, another outdoors lover and musician who is missing. The thread for him here is pretty sparse - very few clues. So many missing - it must be overwhelming for participants here to get involved in multiple disappearances, if my experience just with Adam's is anywise typical.

( O/T thread for Dayne Herndon:

TX - Dayne Herndon, 24, Hurst, 12 Feb 2018
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?366395-TX-Dayne-Herndon-24-Hurst-12-Feb-2018 )

 

[dspdenver]

( O/T thread for Dayne Herndon:

TX - Dayne Herndon, 24, Hurst, 12 Feb 2018
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?366395-TX-Dayne-Herndon-24-Hurst-12-Feb-2018 )

Very glad to read on that thread that he has been found alive last night and his family was traveling to meet him. Apparently he had left a note suggesting self-harm before driving out west to visit National Parks. Hope he stays well.

 

[Steelslady]

I don't recall hearing this detail anywhere before. I remember Adam told the Lyft driver he was harassed at Charlie's, got dropped off at his car downtown and drove home, then walked to Syntax where someone said security footage showed him on his phone most of the 15 minutes there, but whether talking, texting or social media-ing, I never heard details. Then he posted his candle video, went to the bathroom and then left the bar.

/ugh, I thought it was the bartender he talked to- so sorry, you are correct, it was the Lyft driver. I'm involved in too many threads it seems, not sure why I messed up this fact. So embarrassing.

 

[anonypotomous]

/ugh, I thought it was the bartender he talked to- so sorry, you are correct, it was the Lyft driver. I'm involved in too many threads it seems, not sure why I messed up this fact. So embarrassing.

Oh goodness sweetheart, don't be embarrassed. This case was rough, and we're following so many others as well. It's easy to get things a bit jumbled. (speaking from experience [emoji6])

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[dspdenver]

So embarrassing.

Not at all. I've only focused on this thread, so I don't have all the others cluttering my recall. Take care.

 

[Steelslady]

Oh goodness sweetheart, don't be embarrassed. This case was rough, and we're following so many others as well. It's easy to get things a bit jumbled. (speaking from experience [emoji6])

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Thank you, hun, That means a lot. This is rough and so heartbreaking. There was just something so special about Adam, that it has hit me hard, how LE treated this. He deserved to be treated with dignity- it's not like the man was an escaped convict or druggie or harmed others. That's why it's been so upsetting to me that LE barely showed any interest in Adam- he deserved better than this!

Even if he did commit suicide, the least they could have done was perform a search. His family was basically left all alone in terms of finding Adam. Thank God for all those wonderful volunteers that came out to help Adam's family and support them, and thank God for the searcher who continued to keep searching and found him, or otherwise, poor Adam would still be there in the water.

Such a beautiful soul who's life ended too soon.

 

[Steelslady]

Not at all. I've only focused on this thread, so I don't have all the others cluttering my recall. Take care.

Thank you so much. You've been so amazing, and it really is a comfort to know someone nearby cared enough to do what LE did not. No doubt, his family appreciates it, too.

 

[dspdenver]

it really is a comfort to know someone nearby cared enough to do what LE did not.

Unfortunately, I didn't do anything. I don't think I even knew about the search effort until the morning it was scheduled (I think that was the day I found this forum and started getting obsessed with learning more about Adam,) and figured then there were so many already signed up and that it was too late to try to join at that stage, though they gathered just a couple miles from where I live.

And from here I learned we lived close to each other, each just blocks from Washington Park, and I saw what an open and generous and non-judgmental guy he was from his online life and the comments from those who knew him, and that the way he lived seemed so much better than how I had drifted without much passion through my life. I realized that I hadn't even known there was a slim chance I could have met him at the park or hiking until that chance was gone, that he seemed like someone who, if I'd met him, could have shown me that my life could be less drab, and perhaps help with changing.

So I built that up into him having been the only chance out there to inspire a change that I hadn't realized I wanted, and that the possibility for even the chance of that happening was already gone is no doubt a lot of why I've been so affected by him. As Adam said, "We're all so selfish!" and surely that applies to me mourning not just the loss of such a good man to those who loved him, but also the selfish thought that the possibility of him bettering my life was taken away with his death.

The paper today quoted Rev. Billy Graham once urging young people to "invest your lives, not just spend them." I think Adam invested his, and I've only spent mine. The contrast is easy to see in the many people who loved and were affected by him and the life he led in his 29 1/2 short years.

 

[dspdenver]

FYI: I reached out today to the woman in charge of releasing autopsy reports in Denver to ascertain if an autopsy was done on Adam. She replied that one was done and that she expects the report will be released with COD in about two weeks, around 3/14/2018. She could not release any preliminary details, but confirmed she had gotten my autopsy report request form.

Glad to know this at least.

 

[Mica]

FYI: I reached out today to the woman in charge of releasing autopsy reports in Denver to ascertain if an autopsy was done on Adam. She replied that one was done and that she expects the report will be released with COD in about two weeks, around 3/14/2018. She could not release any preliminary details, but confirmed she had gotten my autopsy report request form.

Glad to know this at least.

Thanks!

Guessing they are waiting on toxicology results?

 

[dspdenver]

Guessing they are waiting on toxicology results?

This is what I am assuming, though she did write that autopsy reports normally take 8 weeks to be released.

 

[dspdenver]

I’m glad I was able to see your post on FB about Adam.

I've been wondering if anyone else thought Adam looked distraught in that photo in my post from his Featured Photo album, or if I am totally off base on what that pic represented. That and the candle video are my main reasons for thinking suicide. I wonder if the autopsy will shed any light on this. Big mea culpa on my part if all my speculations have been unfounded.

 

[Mica]

I've been wondering if anyone else thought Adam looked distraught in that photo in my post from his Featured Photo album, or if I am totally off base on what that pic represented. That and the candle video are my main reasons for thinking suicide. I wonder if the autopsy will shed any light on this. Big mea culpa on my part if all my speculations have been unfounded.

I don’t remember the picture from Adam’s Featured Photo album, but I have always thought the blowing out the candle video was his way of saying goodbye.

 

[Steelslady]

I still think of him daily. :heart:

 

[Jenjen37]

I've been wondering if anyone else thought Adam looked distraught in that photo in my post from his Featured Photo album, or if I am totally off base on what that pic represented. That and the candle video are my main reasons for thinking suicide. I wonder if the autopsy will shed any light on this. Big mea culpa on my part if all my speculations have been unfounded.

I thought he looked sad and defeated. Then him saying he loved everyone and blew out the candle. Maybe foreshadowing of what was about to happen. Jmo


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[dspdenver]

Coroner's report was emailed to me. This is the Opinion listed as cause of death:

"Based on the examination findings and history available to me at this
time, it is my opinion that Adam Gilbertson, a 29-year-old male, died
as a result of the combined toxic effects of ethanol, hydrocodone, and
amphetamine in combination with possible freshwater drowning, with a
significant contributing condition of recent cocaine use. The manner
of death is accident."

 

[Mica]

Coroner's report was emailed to me. This is the Opinion listed as cause of death:

"Based on the examination findings and history available to me at this
time, it is my opinion that Adam Gilbertson, a 29-year-old male, died
as a result of the combined toxic effects of ethanol, hydrocodone, and
amphetamine in combination with possible freshwater drowning, with a
significant contributing condition of recent cocaine use. The manner
of death is accident."

Thank you for sharing this information.

 

[dspdenver]

The manner of death is accident."

Given the drugs in his system and the high alcohol level (.162), and pants being unzipped, perhaps while relieving himself (not sure if zippers will open through decomposition bloating) and slight contusions on his legs and arms that could easily be from a fall down the embankment near where he was found, accident seems more likely than suicide to me now, though not sure if the contusions could be postmortem? A subgaleal hemorrhage on the back of the head is presumed to be a decomposition effect, not from injury.

Not sure if some of the pain drugs could be for underlying medical issues that were listed as part of his history, including pancreatitis at some point and strep throat (June 2017.) I was not expecting that he would have drugs in his system that would be enough to impact death, nor that he was as drunk as it seems he was.

All that could still have influenced him toward suicide, but no history of depression was noted. That out-of-character candle video could have just been part of the drug cocktail effects.

A sad end to such a sweet guy. I stop across from his memorial pretty much every time I bike along the South Platte trail, including today. I seem to have passed beyond the grieving stage now, but I still think of Adam every day and wish that night had turned out differently, or that time could be rewound to change it, but that is not the universe we live in.