Dunn
Dunn

The La Plata County Sheriff’s Office has identified Tuesday’s suicide victim as Melissa Dunn, 33.

La Plata County Coroner Jann Smith said Dunn’s cause of death was confirmed as a self-inflicted gunshot wound after an autopsy Wednesday afternoon.

Dunn was the daughter of former La Plata County Deputy Coroner and Durango Fire & Rescue Authority Capt. John Dunn and Barbara Dunn, owner of Plaza Hair and Nail Salon.

Melissa Dunn was a Durango native and graduate of Durango High School. She attended the Paul Mitchell Academy in Atlanta from 2006-07 and worked in her mother’s salon.

“She was a skilled welder, too,” her friend Beth Lamberson Warren said. “And she loved Harleys. She had just ridden cross country on her Harley to North Carolina this summer to do a good friend’s hair for her wedding.”

Friend Kish Mitchell, who had worked as a bartender in the Ska Brewing Co. Tasting Room with Dunn, said Harleys were indeed one of Dunn’s favorite things.

“The first time I went over to her place, she had her Harley in pieces on the living room floor,” Mitchell said. “I said, ‘Melissa, really?’ and she said, ‘What can I say, I love my Harley.’”

Kristen Maruro, marketing manager at Ska, said that while Dunn had left Ska this summer after 2½ years with the company, she was still part of the Ska family.

“I don’t think that girl had a bad bone in her body,” Maruro said. “Her smile and her laughter were super contagious. We had customers who would come in just because they knew she was working, and she was so welcoming.”

Dunn was currently working as a bartender at Pongas and Full Throttle Saloon in addition to her work in the salon.

“Whenever we visited her at Pongas, it was clear every man in the place was in love with her,” Warren said. “She was so interesting, a beautiful woman who was such a gearhead.”

Dunn also loved her dog, Sprocket, who is safe, Warren said.

“She always made me want to be a better, nicer person,” Mitchell said. “I would see how nice and giving she would be to people I was annoyed with, and I would think, ‘I want to be like her.’”

Warren, Mitchell and Maruro are just a few of many friends mourning the young woman, according to Dunn’s Facebook page.

“It was a somber day out here,” Maruro said. “We all got together this morning to process this. And our Tasting Room was full today, with people coming out to be together, talk about Melissa and grieve together.”

Dunn’s personality left people feeling better, Mitchell said.

“She was one of the most generous people I’ve ever met,” Mitchell said. “Generous with her time, generous with her smiles, willing to help people any way she could. Every time with her was a joyful time.”

[email protected]

Memorial donations

The Dunn family has created the Melissa Dunn Fund at Bank of the San Juans, 144 E. Eighth St. Funds raised will be used to pay expenses and erect a bench in the Durango Dog Park in Dunn’s memory.
Melissa Dunn is survived by her parents John Dunn of Bayfield and Barbara Dunn of Durango; sisters Katie Dunn of Durango and Sarah Rogers of Vancouver, Washington; grandmother Mary Jane Hood of Durango; a niece and nephew; and numerous extended family members.
There are no plans for a public memorial service at this time.

To get help

When to call 911
The American Association of Suicidology has identified indicators that a person may be considering suicide and corresponding actions a concerned family member or friend should take.
These are signs of a heightened risk of suicide in the near future, and it’s often a combination of symptoms rather than one or two:
Someone is threatening to hurt or kill themselves.
A person is seeking access to a way to kill themselves such as pills or weapons.
Someone is talking or writing about death, dying or suicide.
In La Plata County, visit www.sucap.org and click on Suicide Prevention for a list of trained gatekeepers.
Call the Axis Health Systems 24-hour Hotline at 247-5245.
Contact a mental-health professional; or for a referral, call 1 (800) 273-TALK (8255).
If you witness or hear a person exhibiting one or more of these behaviors call a mental-health professional:
Hopelessness.
Rage, anger or seeking revenge.
Acting reckless or engaging in reckless activities, seemingly without thinking.
Feeling trapped, as though there’s no way out.
Increasing alcohol or drug use.
Withdrawing from friends, family or society.
Anxiety, agitation, inability to sleep or sleeping all the time.
Dramatic mood changes.
No reason for living or no sense of purpose in life.
The Durango Chapter of Heartbeat for people who have lost loved ones to suicide meets from 6 to 8 p.m. the second and fourth Wednesday of the month at Durango Fire Protection District Station No. 1, 142 Sheppard Drive in Bodo Industrial Park. For more information, call 403-4103 or 749-1673.