Standing near the banks of the Dillon Reservoir on the Snake River Inlet, a crowd of more than 50 gathered on Sunday, July 30, to celebrate the life of Summit County resident Charlie Foster. 

Foster, an 18-year-old Summit High School graduate, was shot and killed by a Summit County Sheriff’s Office deputy and Dillon Police Department officer on July 9 in Summit Cove. 

Friends and family in attendance lit lanterns in Foster’s memory. Though tears and long embraces were frequent, so were laughter and grins as the crowd exchanged stories about Foster, whom many called a bright light in dark times. 

“He always made sure that everyone was okay around him even though he was going through a lot himself,” said Keira Thorsteinson, who described Foster as a close friend. “He was always the light in the room.” 

Thorsteinson, who organized the Sunday vigil, said she met Foster during her freshman year of high school. Thorsteinson attended the Peak School while Foster was at Summit High. The two briefly dated between their freshman and sophomore year, Thorsteinson said, and remained friends afterward. 

One of her favorite memories, Thorsteinson said, is from April of 2021 when she and Foster drove to Denver during the night and took a photo shoot in a parking garage. They shot confetti and played music. It was just one of the many times Foster brought his positive energy to those he cared about, Thorsteinson said.

Mary Grace “MG” Butler, a 17-year-old county resident and soon-to-be senior at Summit High, said Foster was well-liked among his peers. 

Butler called Foster a “really talented lacrosse player” who also loved music and the outdoors. She remembers one freshman year culinary class when the two were tasked with making an angel food cake, which she said proved to be a challenge for Foster. 

“I single-handedly helped him pass that final,” Butler said, adding that she remembers sneaking over to tell Foster the right measurements while their teacher was distracted. 

“I don’t remember how the angel cake turned out,” Butler said. “But he passed.” 

By the end of their sophomore year, the two had become quite close, Butler said. When she left for a foreign exchange trip to Finland shortly before the start of her junior year, Butler said Foster was one of the few friends who would reach out to her every day. 

“He had played a huge part in being my support system while I was in Finland,” said Butler who eventually came back to the United States after roughly three months of being abroad. 

Butler said she was struggling with mental health issues and had to cut what was supposed to be a year-long trip short. She said Foster always made space for her to talk about those challenges. 

“He was always the type of person you could take a deep breath around,” Butler said. “He just wanted to help, and he wanted to hear about it.” 

Alexis Banos, an 18-year-old Summit High graduate, said Foster inspired him to be “the best version of myself that I could be.” 

While they knew each other in middle school, Banos said they didn’t become close friends until junior year of high school. They enjoyed playing basketball at Silverthorne’s Rainbow Park and going on hikes around the county, Banos said. 

“The best memory that sticks out to me is the day that I was struggling with some personal issues at home,” Banos said. 

Banos said Foster told him, “If I am not able to love myself, then who will.” It’s a quote Banos said has “stuck with me ever since he told me that.” 

Friends of Foster said he had a knack for impacting people in that way. Thorsteinson, the vigil’s organizer, said mental health was extremely important to him and that he wanted to donate to a local provider. Thorsteinson said the vigil was able to raise $1,000 through donations which will go to Building Hope, a local mental health nonprofit.

She added that Foster, too, was struggling with mental health challenges before he was killed. 

“You never know what someone’s going through,” Thorsteinson said. “Even if they seem fine, check in with them.”

Butler, the soon-to-be high school senior, called Foster “a once-in-a-lifetime friend.” 

“Even with him being gone, he still continues to be a light in people’s lives,” she said. 

As night settled and the last light of the lanterns faded, Butler pulled out her phone and read a message Foster had sent her on May 1. She said she looks at it frequently.

“You’re capable of doing anything because I’ve seen it,” Foster wrote. “I can’t express how much I care for you and what I would do to make you feel safe and happy. You’re young, and so am I. We both don’t know what life will be like when we’re adults. But I assume when these heavy weights come off your back, you’ll feel free.”