A toilet at the Andrews Lake recreational area in the San Juan National Forest is closed after recently trapping two unsuspecting individuals inside, officials announced Monday.
“There were two we’re aware of,” district ranger Matt Janowiak said. “I hope there was no more than that.”
Janowiak said the district received a call last week that a hiker had been locked inside the bathroom and couldn’t get out. Fortunately, in that instance, the individual was liberated by a passer-by.
A subsequent investigation of the latch found “it was working, but it was a little sticky,” Janowiak said. But over the week, it got progressively worse.
Another report filtered in Monday that someone else was stuck in the stall – this time, the person who extracted the captive “had to pull really hard” on the door handle.
And it was good luck, too, Janowiak said. Though there are vents in the stall, they are high up and a person would have to climb a cinderblock wall.
“Not everyone could do that,” Janowiak said. “So we just decided to close it.”
Janowiak said replacement parts should arrive within the next day or two, and by the end of the week, the toilet door should be fully operational. The public is encouraged to use the open stall on the other side of the facility.
“This is just a random thing,” the district ranger said. “I’ve been doing this 7½ years, and this is the first time I’ve encountered something like that.”
jromeo@durangoherald.com
