Paul McElrea, 52, was found by a search party near his home in Ridgway, Colorado, on July 7, two days after he failed to return home from a late night ride on his vintage Moto Guzzi.
The eldest of Richard and Rosemary McElrea’s three sons, Paul rode regularly in the area between Ridgway and his previous home base in Ouray.
It is possible he lost control on an extended S-bend on the sealed road. The police investigation is continuing.
An avid skier, McElrea left Christchurch at 19 to work as a ski patroller in France and several locations in the United States, regularly returning home for the New Zealand winter at Mt Hutt.
McElrea met future wife Raleigh while patrolling Copper Mountain Ski Resort in Colorado during the 2005-06 ski season; they married the following year and have two children, James, 12, and nine-year-old Scarlett.
He was working in the building industry and was certified as an electrician.
Richard McElrea retired as coroner in 2015 after presiding over hundred of inquests during a career spanning 21 years.
“Paul was a dedicated family man in Ridgway, where he had realised his dreams. We will remember Paul with great love,” his father said yesterday.
McElrea last visited Christchurch in 2011, his parents made their last journey to Colorado in 2019, shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic spread.
A memorial service was held for McElrea in Ridgway last weekend.
