The Pitkin County coroner has identified the family who died from apparent carbon monoxide poisoning in a house east of Aspen on Friday as Parker Lofgren, 39, Caroline Lofgren, 42, and their children, Owen, 10, and Sophie, 8.

The Denver family was staying at a house owned by a friend on Popcorn Lane, said Pitkin County sheriff’s spokeswoman Marie Munday.

Munday said gas and heating technicians determined that a malfunction of the hot water and snowmelt systems caused extreme levels of carbon monoxide in the house.

The bodies were taken to Grand Junction for autopsy. The toxicology results could take up to two weeks, said Pitkin County Deputy Coroner Chuck Johnson.

The Lofgrens arrived at the house Thursday afternoon. Their bodies were discovered by friends from Denver on Friday afternoon at approximately 5 p.m., Munday said.

Parker Lofgren was a graduate of Colorado College and obtained an MBA in finance from the University of Washington. He was a co-founder and managing partner of St. Charles Capital, a Denver-based investment bank.

Caroline Lofgren was a member of several nonprofit boards, and helped to raise money for Historic Denver and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. She and her husband were members of St. Anne’s Episcopal Church and School, where the Lofgren children were enrolled.

Munday said she’d been told the house was about five years old. It covered about 3,250 square feet.

Newer houses, because they are so tight, are more likely to suffer from carbon monoxide buildup due to faulty utilities than older, more drafty houses, Munday said. She didn’t know if the house had a carbon monoxide detector.

Old house or new, carbon monoxide deaths are rare in the Aspen area.

“I’ve never heard of it happening, and I’ve been here almost 30 years,” Munday said.

Roger Holowell, deputy chief of the Aspen Volunteer Fire Department, urged homeowners to install and maintain carbon monoxide detectors.

“It is the first line of defense in preventing such tragedy,” Holowell said.

lburton@aspendailynews.com