Six workers who died in what authorities suspect was exposure to gas at a dairy farm include a 50-year-old father and two sons, an incident that left rural Colorado communities in mourning.
Weld County Chief Deputy Coroner Jolene Weiner on Friday confirmed the identities of the deceased — all Hispanic males, including four members of an extended family.
Alejandro Espinoza Cruz, of Nunn, died along with his 17-year-old son Oscar Espinoza Leos — a high school student — and a second son, 29-year-old Carlos Espinoza Prado of Evans.
The Espinozas are related by marriage to another 36-year-old victim from Greeley — Jorge Sanchez Pena, Weiner said.
Organizers with a support network for food workers told the Denver Post that the four relatives repaired machinery at various dairies in and near Keenesburg, Colorado, where they were found dead Wednesday evening.
“They were extremely hardworking and humble,” said Tomi Rodriguez, an outreach worker for Project Protect Food System Workers. “They were a very united family.”
The Weld County Coroner’s Office identified the other deceased Colorado residents as Ricardo Gomez Galvan, 40, and Noe Montanez Casanas, 32, both of Keenesburg.
Words of condolences for the six flooded online message boards while flyers advertised a dance, hair cuts and a car wash over the weekend to benefit their families.
Their bodies were recovered by emergency responders at a dairy farm in Kennesburg, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) northeast of Denver. Project Protect personnel said the two men outside the extended family lived on the grounds of the dairy in employer-provided housing, according to the Denver Post.
The coroner’s office is investigating the deaths as the possible consequence of gas exposure in a confined space. The office on Friday said autopsies have been completed on all six people, but it was awaiting the results of further testing to determine exactly how they died.
Weld County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Melissa Chesmore has said the agency didn’t find anything that would indicate a crime took place.
County tax records say the property is owned by Prospect Valley Dairy LLC and list a Bakersfield, California, address for the owners. The Associated Press left phone messages this week at a number listed for the California address.
Weld County is a major agricultural producer. Three-quarters of its land is devoted to farming and raising livestock. It’s Colorado’s leading dairy producer and the state’s biggest source of beef cattle, grain and sugar beets.
Census data from 2020 shows 30% of the county was Hispanic or Latino, compared to 22% for the state overall.