50 years ago

March 21, 1975

Vail Ski School worker Julie Cunningham was reported as missing, The Vail Trail reported.

Cunningham was later identified as a victim of serial killer Ted Bundy, but the Vail Police Department did not suspect anything criminal at first, the Trail reported, quoting Vail Police Officer Dave Bustos.

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“We’ve made an extensive search of the village and we have no evidence to indicate foul play,” Bustos said.

Cunningham was last seen on the evening of Saturday, March 15, 1975.

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“She’s known as a very punctual person,” Bustos said. “She has never missed work without calling in. But she was supposed to meet a friend on Saturday night and failed to show up and she wasn’t at work on Sunday.”

60 years ago

March 18, 1965

The Rio Grande railroad through Eagle County was closed due to a train derailment at the east portal of the Moffat Tunnel, the Eagle Valley Enterprise reported.

“Twenty of the 33 cars left the tracks with some of them landing in South Boulder Creek,” the Enterprise reported. “Three hundred feet of the main line track and the side track were torn up. The engine, first 10 cars and last two cars and caboose remained on the track.”

A wrecking derrick from Grand Junction which was once reported to be the largest railroad steam derrick in the world was brought in to clear wreckage and rebuild tracks.

Passenger trains were being rerouted through Pueblo.

70 years ago

March 17, 1955

Denver businessman Luke E. Smith attended an Eagle Chamber of Commerce dinner meeting to campaign in support of a tunnel under Loveland Pass, connecting Denver to the Western Slope.

Smith said the Western Slope was on the threshold of a new era of industrial expansion and in need of a vastly improved transportation system in order to get to Eastern Slope market outlets.

“The hub of the expansion lies along Highways 6 and 24 with Grand Junction already recognized as the uranium center of the nation, and areas along the 6 and 24 route, including the Eagle River valley, figuring in the natural resources development,” the Enterprise reported.

80 years ago

March 16, 1945

Private First Class Harold Helms, of Eagle, was cited for a bronze star medal, the Eagle Valley Enterprise reported, quoting from the citation.

The citation said Helms was a member of a task force selected to take a heavily fortified position north of Germany after several unsuccessful attempts by forces of considerable strength.

“Advancing under a heavy artillery and mortar barrage which caused casualties among our troops, the attack was pressed until a deadly hail of machine gun fire from pillbox positions made further movement impossible,” according to the citation. “The troops held their ground for over 36 hours when, suffering from exposure, they withdrew, but only after expending all their ammunition and inflicting heavy casualties upon the enemy.”

90 years ago

March 15, 1935

Mrs. James Holden, wife of a prominent ranchman and mining man, died in a hospital in Glenwood Springs as the result of injuries received at her Beaver Creek ranch home, the Eagle Valley Enterprise reported.

“Mrs. Holden was alone on the ranch at the time, and had climbed into the hay mow of the barn to gather eggs,” the Enterprise reported. “Hay covered an opening in the floor into which she stepped and fell through to the floor below.”

100 years ago

March 20, 1925

Locals were treated to free venison from Forest Ranger Brown, the Eagle Valley Enterprise reported, after a buck ran into a wire fence in the back of Charles Mayer’s house.

“Mr. Mayer saw the accident and telephoned of it to Mr. Brown, who instructed the former to care for the carcass so that it would be in condition to eat,” the Enterprise reported. “The animal had evidently been faring well off the neighborhood hay stacks for it was fat and in good condition, so Mr. Brown tells us.”