Photo: Facebook
Marine Sergeant Jessie Mello died at the age of 24 after a freak skiing accident while visiting her family in Colorado over the holidays, the Colorado Sun reported.
Mello, of Grand Junction, was skiing an intermediate-level trail at Powderhorn Mountain on Christmas Eve when she suffered a severe head injury and broken bones, which she succumbed to on January 5. Jessie's father, Eric Mello, told the Colorado Sun that he saw his daughter wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, which included hitting a patch of ice that caused her to slide into a tree.
Jessie was flown to St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, located about 40 miles away from the site of the crash, and placed in intensive care prior to her death.
“My baby girl went peacefully into Jesus’s arms tonight,” Eric wrote in a post shared on Facebook. “Thank you all for the love and support through all of this… We love you all and she is at peace.”
A funeral was held at Messiah Lutheran Church on January 10, followed by Marine Corps Funeral Honors in which Eric said "more than 50 Marines from all over the world" showed up to pay respects to his daughter. Mello's family told the Colorado Sun she grew up skiing Powderhorn Mountain, but stopped after high school, at which point she enlisted and served in the U.S. Marines.
Mello was the first reported death on a Colorado ski slope during the 2024-25 season, with at least 15 people having died during the previous year, including six fatal collisions with trees.