After two missing hunters were found dead following a lightning strike in southern Colorado, devastated loved ones have said they’re also grateful the pair died together, pursuing the passion that brought them so much joy.

“I can’t imagine a better way to go out,” Dylan Stasko told FOX affiliate KSTU of her brother, Ian Stasko, who was killed alongside his friend, Andrew Porter, on Thursday, Sept. 18. “They were with each other, doing what they loved in an absolutely beautiful place.”

Ian, 25, and Porter, 25, both experienced hunters, were on a hunting trip in the Rio Grande National Forest and last made contact when Porter shared his location through a satellite device with his fiancée, Bridget Murphy, on Sept. 11, she told The Colorado Sun. He had been giving Murphy and his family updates every few hours until that last communication.

By Sept. 13, deputies from the Conejos County Sheriff’s Office arrived at the Rio de Los Pinos Trailhead following reports that the two men were overdue, according to press releases shared with PEOPLE. According to officials, they had “failed to check in with loved ones at a predetermined time.”

A dayslong search commenced, involving more than 170 people, search teams on the ground and in the air, people on horseback and canine units. Early on in the search, the men’s vehicle was found at the trailhead with their backpacks and camping gear inside, prompting concern because of the “heavy rain and bad weather,” the sheriff’s office said.

By Sept. 17, Murphy shared an update on Facebook that the two men had been seen alive on the morning of Sept. 12. “This gives us one more night we know they were safe,” she wrote at the time.

As Murphy urged people to help in the search, she continued to hold onto hope that she’d see her fiancé, who she was set to marry in a few months, again, according to The Colorado Sun.

Murphy explained to the paper that both Porter and Stasko were “very prepared outdoorsmen.” But she was aware that whatever occurred “depends on if they were in sound mind, if they were disoriented or panicked, or if they were already hypothermic. We’re just not sure. So there’s a lot of teams out looking.”

On Sept. 18, the search came to an end when the bodies of both men were found two miles from the Rio de Los Pinos Trailhead, officials announced. Four days later, Conejos County Coroner Richard Martin confirmed to PEOPLE that the men died after being struck by lightning. He added that their injuries were consistent with “a pretty intense electrical jolt.”

As life-altering as the news was for the hunters’ families, they were grateful to have some resolution.

“They didn’t do anything wrong, they didn’t feel fear or pain,” wrote Murphy on social media that same day. She confirmed that her fiancé was attempting to get back to his car when the storm blew through on Sept. 12.

“It was out of everyone’s hands, and I am so grateful we found them so they can be at peace,” she continued. “He was an experienced outdoorsman who was in the wrong spot at the wrong time.”

Dylan shared a similar sentiment in a tribute to her brother Ian on Instagram. Describing Ian as her “best friend,” Dylan wrote that with her brother by her side, “everything was a beautiful adventure.”

“I learned everything from you, you pushed me to do things I didn’t think I was capable of,” his sibling continued, “and you made me into the person I am today, a mini version of you.”

For Murphy, losing Porter has made her feel like a “widow” as she grieves the future they’d planned, she wrote. But she plans on holding onto his memory to push forward — including the last, brief moment they had on FaceTime when she saw Porter “smiling and full of happiness with Ian there.”

“I love you, Andrew, so hard I can’t breathe,” Murphy continued. “I will always love you, forever. Every day, I will miss you. Every day, I will think of what you’d be doing. I won’t let you down.”