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The search for mountain lions along a remote trail in Colorado where a solo hiker was fatally attacked<\/a> ended Monday, after authorities killed two of the predators last week but could not find a third.<\/p>\n The victim of the New Year’s Day attack was identified as a 46-year-old woman from Fort Collins, about an hour’s drive from the site of the attack on the Crosier Mountain trail east of Rocky Mountain National Park.<\/p>\n Victim Kristen Marie Kovatch died of asphyxia due to having her neck compressed, the Larimer County Coroner\u2019s Office said in a statement Monday. The injuries were \u201cconsistent with a mountain lion attack” and Kovatch’s death was ruled an accident, the coroner\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n Two hikers saw Kovatch’s body on a trail southeast of the community of Glen Haven, Colorado, at around noon on Jan. 1, state officials said. A mountain lion was nearby and they threw rocks to scare it away. One of the hikers, a physician, attended to the victim but did not find a pulse.<\/p>\n Later that day, two mountain lions located in the area around the attack were shot and killed by wildlife officers. The search for a third lion detected in the area stretched over four days with no further sign of the animal, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials.<\/p>\n Mountain lions \u2014 also known as cougars, pumas or catamounts \u2014 can weigh 130 pounds (60 kilograms) and grow to more than 6 feet (1.8 meters) long. They primarily eat deer.<\/p>\n Colorado has an estimated 3,800 to 4,400 mountain lions, which are classified as a big game species in the state and can be hunted.<\/p>\n A Glen Haven man running on the same trail where Kovatch was killed encountered a montain lion<\/a> in November. He said it rushed him aggressively but he fought it off with a stick.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n