| 5/18/2006 8:56:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Lightning kills man near Fairplay ranch
by Cate Malek- The Fairplay Flume
FAIRPLAY – Lightning apparently struck and killed Jason Giese, 24 of Fairplay, as he and his dog went for a recreational run about a mile from town Sunday.
Giese left the ranch on Colo. 9 where he lived with his mother about 11 a.m. with Baby, the dog who was his “running partner.”
When he didn’t return, his mother, Linda Giese, became worried and contacted the Park County Sheriff’s Department and Search and Rescue.
Searchers found him and his dog Monday in a pasture less than a mile from home, both were victims of the freak accident.
Park County Coroner Sharon Morris said evidence pointed to a lightning strike and an electrical storm was reported in the area Sunday morning.
Morris said she remembers only three other lightning deaths in Park County during the last 14 years.
Dennis Giese, his father and former superintendent of the Buena Vista school district, said his son was a talented runner who loved to be outdoors.
“Running was his way of relaxing. He had a way about him – his smile, the way he talked to people.”
In addition, young Giese enjoyed rock climbing, bicycling, hunting and horseback riding. His father said he was a quick learner who went at things “full bore” whether it was running, playing the saxophone, or the construction work he did.
The victim worked for J&P Excavation of Fairplay as a heavy equipment operator with special expertise as a trackhoe operator.
Equipment operating was a skill he learned as a youth from his father and provided a job for him throughout high school and later.
He graduated from Buena Vista High School in 2000.
Jason Giese was engaged to Tasha Imadiyi of Phoenix, Ariz. He planned to move to Phoenix to be with her and to start his own excavation business.
His father described his son as athletic and “full of plans” for the future.
Throughout his school career Jason was an athlete and excelled as a runner. He placed eighth at the 3A state cross country meet his junior year and was 14th in the 800-meter run at the Simplot Games.
He was 13th his senior year at the state cross country meet in which he ran with two stress fractures. He was a state track qualifier in the 3,200-meter relay, 800-meter run and 1,600-meter run during his high school career.
The obituary for Jason Giese appears in the obituary section.
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