A 24-year-old Marine Sergeant has died after she was injured in a skiing accident at a popular resort while home visiting her family for the holidays.
Jessie Mello, from Grand Junction, Colo., was skiing at Powderhorn Mountain on Dec. 24 when she suffered a severe head injury and broken bones on the resort’s intermediate-level trail, The Colorado Sun reported.
The young Marine’s father, Eric Mello, told the outlet witnesses saw his daughter was wearing a helmet and hit a patch of ice while skiing down the mountain, causing her to slide into a tree.
She was flown to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction — roughly 40 miles from the skiing hotspot — and was placed in intensive care, where she was left fighting for her life.
Mello died from her injuries in the hospital on Jan. 5.
“My baby girl went peacefully into Jesus’s arms tonight,” her father wrote in a Facebook post.
“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 for Mello at Messiah Lutheran Church on Jan. 10.
The service was followed by Marine Corps Funeral Honors, where taps were played for her final salute to service, and two Marines dressed in their blues folded the American flag draped over her casket and presented it to her father.
Her father said “more than 50 Marines from all over the world” showed up to the service to pay their respects to his daughter, according to The Colorado Sun.
Mello’s family told the outlet that she grew up skiing at Powderhorn Mountain but stopped in high school and while she served in the Marines.
Mello is remembered as being “kind, loving, and full of joy,” but wasn’t afraid to “put you in your place with a simple glance and build you up with a hug,” an online memorial page set up for the Marine shared.
“Excellence was not a lofty goal for Jessie; it was the standard,” an online memorial page set up for the Marine shared.
“Jessie lived more in 24 years than most dream to live in a lifetime. She traveled the world, was a multisport athlete, a black belt, a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps, and an incredible daughter, sister, and friend to everyone she encountered.”
Mello is survived by her parents, Eric and Jennifer Mello, and two brothers, Bo and William Mello.
Her death was the first reported ski area fatality of the 2024-25 ski season, according to The Colorado Sun.
During the 2023-34 season, at least 15 people died on Colorado ski slopes — six of them after colliding with trees.
Powderhorn boasts its “1,600 acres of diverse terrain” and says its mountains annually receive over 250 inches of snow.
