Authorities are investigating a suspected fatal mountain lion attack after a woman was found dead on a hiking trail in Colorado on Thursday.

In a news release on Thursday, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) said that hikers reported seeing a mountain lion near a person lying on the ground on the Crosier Mountain trail in unincorporated Larimer county at around 12.15pm local time on Thursday.

The hikers “scared the lion from the area by throwing rocks at the animal”, according to officials, and then attended to the woman but were unable to find a pulse.

CPW officers, along with Larimer county sheriff deputies, Estes Park police and Glen Haven Area volunteer firefighters responded to the area and conducted an extensive search for mountain lions.

One lion was located at the scene and shot and it ran from the area, authorities said. The lion was later located and “it was euthanized” the news release added. A second mountain lion was then discovered nearby and also euthanized, authorities said.

“It is unknown if one or multiple animals were involved in the suspected attack,” authorities said, adding that “according to CPW policies, wildlife involved in attacks on humans must be euthanized to ensure public safety”.

The news release states that pathologists will “perform a necropsy on the animals, checking for abnormalities and neurological diseases like rabies and avian influenza”.

According to CPW, mountain lion attacks on humans in Colorado are “considered to be rare, with 28 previous attacks reported to CPW since 1990” and the last fatal attack occurred in 1999.

According to the CPW website, there are between 3,800 and 4,400 mountain lions in Colorado.