A runaway cat named Bones briefly shut down eastbound I-70 through the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnel early Sunday morning after the feline was spotted pacing along the tunnel’s inner pedestrian catwalk. Tunnel operators paused traffic so crews could scoop up the stowaway and get him to safety. The cat appears to have slipped from a pickup somewhere on the mountain corridor and was tracked overnight via an AirTag on his collar.
Video of the early-morning rescue was captured and shared by local outlets, and CBS News Colorado reported that Bones was seen roaming the eastbound lanes while a Colorado Department of Transportation employee walked into the tunnel to retrieve him. As CBS News Colorado shows, the stoppage was brief, and crews carried Bones out of the tunnel to safety.
How Bones Was Tracked And Found
The cat’s owners realized he was missing after checking an AirTag and seeing his location jump to the tunnel’s catwalk, according to KUNC. Summit Lost Pet Rescue volunteers and a woman who saw the group’s Facebook post alerted Summit County Animal Control, which then contacted CDOT so operations staff could pull up tunnel camera feeds.
"I know Bones is a tough cat — and he's been through a lot," owner Abby Hagstrom told KUNC after the rescue.
Short Pause, Happy Ending
KUNC reported that workers stopped eastbound I-70 traffic for around eight minutes so one employee could safely retrieve the cat. CDOT's I-70 mountain corridor communications page lists Austyn Dineen as the corridor communications manager, and corridor cameras were used to confirm Bones' location before staff moved in for the grab. By about 5:30 a.m., Bones was back with his family and returned home unharmed.
