TURTLE'S NEW BFF

A Thornton firefighter rescued a turtle "facing certain doom" in traffic, officials said, earning the turtle's accolades as its new "Best Friend Forever."

[Photo: Thornton Fire Department]

NATIONAL NEWS: MUSK BREAK-UP BACKFIRES

The Associated Press reports the General Services Administration, a key federal agency, is calling back hundreds of civil servants after Elon Musk-led job cuts left it paralyzed. "They didn’t have the people they needed to carry out basic functions,” a former official told AP.

ORANGUTAN DEPARTS

Berani, the Denver Zoo's 32-year-old Sumatran orangutan, passed away this week. His health had been declining. He suffered kidney disease. "Berani was a devoted father and inspired people worldwide with his gentle nature,' the zoo said. [Photo: Denver Zoo]

NATIONAL NEWS: NUDISTS REVOLT

Naturalists at nudist camp Olive Dell Ranch are suing the new owners, alleging they are being forced to wear clothes and face eviction. The bare-it-all retreat has been in business for more than 70 years in Colton, California, KTLA television reports.

IT'S OFFICIAL!

Tuesday was "awash" - but the sun is forecast to break through the clouds today over the Denver area. 

TIPTOE THROUGH THE TULIPS

Rhinos "Rudy" and "Tensing" reside at the Denver Zoo. [Photo: Denver Zoo]

BATTLING FOR BUCK-EE'S

The Denver Post reports the city of Lamar, along U.S. Route 50 in southeast Colorado, is pitching itself as a site for the next Buc-ee’s mega travel center in the state amid concerns about the retailer's proposed store in Palmer Lake.

MOTORIST SHOT DEAD, SUSPECT IN CUSTODY

UPDATE

A motorist was shot and killed Tuesday by another motorist who fled the scene - and police located a suspect about two hours later.

They also located the vehicle tied to the fatal shooting.

The tragedy occurred in the vicinity of South Twenty Mile Rd and East Longs Way in Parker, near Railbender Skate and Tennis Park, police said.
"Witnesses stated two vehicles were stopped alongside each other, a disagreement ensued, multiple gunshots were heard and one vehicle left the scene," police said. "Officers arrived on scene and located a deceased male near his vehicle." Information provided by the public helped the investigation. Police identified the suspect as Matthew Littlefield, 27.

GIRL, 14, MISSING SINCE MONDAY; HEALTH CONCERNS

Police are searching for a missing Colorado Springs girl with "mental health concerns."

They advise the pubic to approach the youth with caution, according to a Colorado Bureau of Investigation alert.

Enfinity Rodriguez, 14, was last seen Monday on South Circle Drive. She has a pierced right nostril. If you have information, call 911.

NOTHING BUT BLUE SKIES DO I SEE

"Skies will become mostly sunny by midday," the National Weather Service says. "Temperatures will be warmer as well."

HUNT DANGEROUS PRISON ESCAPEES; FBI ISSUES WARNING

UPDATE

Police are searching for two dangerous teen escapees from the Spring Creek Youth Services Center in Colorado Springs.

Dameron Carbajal, 17, serving time for attempted murder, and Cristian Jaramillo, 17, serving time for kidnapping, were last seen Monday, Colorado Springs police said.

"These 2 are convicted of violent felonies," the FBI said.
The teens were tried and sentenced in Pueblo County. Carbajal "is a Hispanic male, 5’5’’ tall, weighing about 150 lbs., with brown hair and brown eyes, with a mustache, and was last seen wearing a grey sweater and black jeans," police said on social media. Jaramillo "is a Hispanic male, 5’7” tall, weighing about 170 lbs., with brown hair and brown eyes, with a mustache, and was also last seen wearing a grey sweater and black jeans," police said. If seen, do not approach. Call 911 immediately.

BUST SUSPECTED AUTO THIEF

Responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle, Westminster police arrested an alleged auto thief Monday after a tussle at a service station off Sheridan Boulevard.

[Photo: Westminster Police Department]

CALLING DOCTOR GOODWRENCH

An unattended auto rolled into the emergency room entrance at Rose Hospital, damaging the doors, according to a Daily Sketch reader who supplied this photo. The mishap occurred last Thursday evening.

CHURCH BURGLAR

Police said Tuesday they identified a suspect in a series of church burglaries in Lakewood.

DRAGGED HALF MILE - OR MORE - BY HIT & RUN DRIVER

The Colorado State Patrol is searching for a hit-and-run driver who dragged a downed motorcyclist a half mile or more, officials said Tuesday.

Saturday night's horror crash occurred in Gilpin County on Highway 6 at milepost 268, which is near Golden. The state patrol provided this account:

"The rider lost control of the motorcycle, causing the motorcycle to slide into a Honda CR-V. The adult male rider, age 47, was ejected from the motorcycle and landed in the westbound lanes, where he was struck by a different vehicle.

"The rider was dragged approximately a half mile to one mile west of the initial crash scene by this unknown vehicle."

If you have information, call the state patrol at (303) 239-4501 and reference case number VC250351.

SHE'S SAFE: MISSING TEEN LOCATED, SUSPECT NABBED

UPDATE Missing Jasmin Zapata, 16, of Boulder has been located and is safe following an overnight odyssey, officials said Tuesday. Boulder police said a suspect in Monday night's disappearance night - which prompted an urgent Amber Alert - was taken into custody with the help of Thornton police and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. They identified him as Juan Manuel Bretado-Lopez, 19, believed to be the person who threatened and forced the teen into a white pickup truck with Colorado licese plates.
Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn said: “Our officers and detectives worked tirelessly all night following up on every lead, from interviewing witnesses to using Flock cameras to determine where this suspect could be." 
A Flock is a solar-powered camera that reads and records license plates of passing vehicles.

Redfearn said: "We’re so thankful this young woman was found safe and unharmed after we received such a scary call initially.” 

The harrowing incident started at 8:30 p.m. Monday on 19th Street in Boulder, police said.

FLYING WEDGE MYSTERY MAY HOLD KEY TO COLORADO 'DRONES'

An illuminated flying wedge circling a Los Angeles neighborhood could hold a key to Colorado's mystery drones.

"It stayed in the same area for about 25–30 minutes for the first time I saw it," a spotter said. "It moved around a little bit but didn’t go too far. At the end it just flew off in the south direction until I couldn’t see it anymore."

The spotter filed a report with the National UFO Reporting Center in Davenport, Washington, on the incident which occurred at about 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 28.

Photo analysis suggested the spectacle may have been a military drone test flight. A UFO expert told London's Daily Mail: 'I'm convinced that a lot of famous UFO incidents are basically highly advanced terrestrial technology."

That could explain mysterious fleets of drones spotted over the eastern Colorado prairie. There's never been a proper explanation. 

Meantime, reports from Alabama say a man shot at a medical chopper, thinking it was a drone - injuring a flight nurse.

[Photo: National UFO Reporting Center]

BIG RIG WRECKS TIE UP MAJOR HIGHWAYS; 1 HURT

 

UPDATE

A pair of big rig wrecks tied up major Denver area highways in less than 24 hours.

A truck crashed off I-270 and flipped onto 56th Avenue early Tuesday, Commerce City police said. The driver was injured and cut free of the twisted cab, South Adams Fire said.

On Monday evening, a flaming truck closed the eastbound I-70 off-ramp to C-470 east near Golden, the Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office said. The driver was able to escape, officials said. [Photos: South Adams Fire Department, Commerce City Police Department, Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office]

AMBER ALERT! SEEK TEEN FORCED INTO TRUCK IN APPARENT KIDNAPPING; 2 MEN SOUGHT

FLASH UPDATE - Jasmin Zapata has been located and is safe, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation reports. A suspect has been arrested, Boulder police say.

Police issued an Amber Alert for a missing teenage girl who was apparently kidnapped Monday night in Boulder in a white pickup truck.

Police said Jasmin Zapata, 16, was forced into the truck by two Hispanic men at her home at 4500 19th Street at about 8:30 p.m. Police identified one of the men as Juan Bretado, 19. "There is reason to believe that Jasmin is in danger," police said. "If you see the vehicle please do not approach and immediately call 911." 
Zapata stands 5-foot-2, weighs 110 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair and was wearing a black shirt and black pants.   The pickup truck is a 2-door, cream/white 2007 Chevy Silverado with Colorado tag AXWL52, large black rims and a green sticker on the lower left rear window, police said. Do not approach. Immediately call 911. The vehicle was last seen at 8:57 p.m. Monday at Thornton Parkway and Gale Boulevard, police said. [Photos: Boulder Police Department]

HIGH COUNTRY SET FOR HEAVY SNOW

Welcome to autumn in the Rockies.

The National Weather Service is forecasting up to a foot or more of snow across the higher mountains of the Front Range through Tuesday.

Berthoud Pass, Cameron Pass and the approach to Eisenhower/Johnson Tunnels could receive 3 to 8 inches of snow, the weather service said. Lighter accumulations are possible down to 9,000 feet.

Denver could see showers and scattered thunderstorms Monday night.

STATE PATROL SEEKS CLUES IN HIT & RUN

The Colorado State Patrol is seeking clues in a hit-and-run accident that injured a pedestrian in western Colorado. The crime occurred on 6400 Road in Montrose on Sunday, the patrol said.

'GRUMPY' TURTLE STUCK IN TRAFFIC

No such thing as rush hour for this critter.

Members of the Boulder County Sheriff's Office helped a "very grumpy" 30-pound or 40-pound snapping turtle cross the street. (They didn't bother to check the highway truck scale.)

"Snapping turtles can deliver a serious bite," officials said. "Call Animal Protection or the Sheriff’s Office and let the professionals do the heavy lifting so we can keep on living our best turtle lives." 

[Photo: Boulder County Sheriff's Office]

LIGHTNING KILLED ELK HUNTERS

UPDATE

Lightning killed elk hunters Andrew Porter and Ian Stasko in southern Colorado, a coroner ruled Monday.

Their bodies were found Thursday after they went missing Sept. 11.

Porter's fiancée said on social media they were "just trying to get back to the car as storms rolled in" Sept. 12.

The double tragedy occurred near a trailhead in Conejos County.

NATIONAL NEWS: OUTRAGE OVER CARLSON QUIP; KIMMEL RETURNS TO AIR

UPDATE

Israelis accused TV bad boy Tucker Carlson of promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories about the assassination of political pundit Charlie Kirk - at Kirk's memorial.

"Complete with a laugh like a cartoon villain, Tucker Carlson uses Charlie Kirk’s funeral to spread an antisemitic blood libel," a former Israeli government official, Eylon Levy, said on X.

Meanwhile, suspended TV talk show host Jimmy Kimmel will return to the air Tuesday following his suspension over comments about the Kirk killing.

AUTUMN SNOW ON TAP FOR HIGH COUNTRY

Autumn is here and the National Weather Service forecasts mountain snow through Tuesday. The Larimer County Sheriff's Office says Trail Ridge Road will temporarily close to through traffic starting at 6 p.m. Monday.

TRUMP TARIFFS HURTING STATE, POLIS SAYS

In its third quarter economic forecast, Colorado's Office of State Planning and Budget reported Trump tariffs are chipping away at family finances and threatening the state's labor market, Governor Jared Polis said Monday.

NATIONAL NEWS: TIGER KILLS HANDLER

A tiger killed a famed animal handler Saturday at the Growler Pines Tiger Preserve. Ryan Easley's "courage, compassion and unwavering commitment to wildlife will never be forgotten," the Hugo, Oklahoma, preserve said on Facebook. Easley had worked with Tiger King Joe Exotic.

ARREST AFTER SWAT STANDOFF IN COMMERCE CITY

UPDATE

A heavily armed SWAT unit arrested a suspect in a dangerous standoff Monday that dragged on for hours in Commerce City.

Police responded to a "shots fired" call in the early morning and the suspect refused to surrender peacefully. The suspect was arrested at about 2:30 p.m. and faces a variety of changes, including shooting through a wall into a neighbor's home. Police negotiators were on the scene throughout the day in the 5300-block of 63rd Place. Authorities instructed neighbors to stay indoors during the standoff. No injuries were reported.

[Photo: Commerce City Police Department]

TODAY'S DUMB-DUMB TROPHY

 

Police arrested a drunken man who attempted to steal truck from a rental lot in Commerce City - and then nodded off. 

He fished a set of keys from a drop box.

"We found him passed out behind the wheel of the vehicle over the weekend," police said. "Officers set up a perimeter, then removed him from the driver's seat." He faces auto theft and DUI charges.
[Photo: Commerce City Police]

TRUCK LEAKING ACID CLOSED I-25 RAMP

UPDATE

A harrowing hazmat incident closed the 84th Avenue on-ramp to southbound I-25 early Monday. The Thornton Fire Department said 50 to 75 gallons of hydrochloric acid leaked from a truck's cargo bay onto dirt and soil. Fortunately, "it was determined that there was no run-off into waterways or stormwater drains," officials said.

No injuries were reported. The truck was bound for Wyoming. Firefighters from Adams County also attended the incident. [Photo: Thornton Fire Department]

DENVER STABBING

A person was stabbed in the 4700-block of Altura Street in Denver, police said early Monday.

MISSING FOR ALMOST 2 WEEKS

Austin Marie Meissner, 31, went missing Sept. 11 from the 700-block of Eighth Street in Colorado Springs, the Colorado Bureau of Identification said Sunday. She has a tattoo of wolf paw prints and was last seen carrying a backpack. If you have information, call the El Paso County Sheriff's Office at (719) 390-5555.

WEATHER DRENCHED STATE FAIR TALLY

Stormy weather caused a 13-percent drop in attendance at this year's Colorado State Fair, the Pueblo Chieftain reported. Primary attendance totaled 428,941 visitors, down from 2024. Attendance reached a 12-year high of about 510,000 in 2023.

BROKEN TAILLIGHT LEADS COPS TO DOPE HAUL IN BRIGHTON

In Brighton, police Friday seized 254 Fentanyl pills, a gun, drug paraphernalia and other narcotics after stopping an auto with a broken taillight and expired registration, officials said. Four people were arrested.

FUTURE COP

This young man talked shop with a Douglas County deputy sheriff at a recent community event. "In a world full of big moments, it’s often the little ones that mean the most," the sheriff's office says.

[Photo: Douglas County Sheriff's Office]

FIRE IN ARVADA

Arvada firefighters extinguished a fire in a laundry room Sunday in the 4500-block of Tabor Street, officials said.

TIMELY ADVICE

Your editor took a spill today, sober. Then this message crossed his desk. Be careful out there.

IT HAPPENED HERE: SHAMEFUL BUSINESS

The Ku Klux Klan gained national prominence during a 1920s rebirth and Denver merchants sought its business.

McCauley's Toggerey, a clothing store on 12th Street, advertised "Klassy Kut Klothes. They look better. They wear longer." 

Koke's Auto Service, address unknown, billed itself as home of "Klean, Klassy Kars," according to Denver Public Library archives.

National chains, such as Piggly-Wiggly, advertised in the Klan's short-lived local newspaper, The Rocky Mountain American.

The Klan loomed large in politics, too, dominating Colorado's state capitol and Denver city hall for a time. However, its prominence fizzled here and beyond as sexual and financial scandal rocked the racist organization.

The Rocky Mountain American folded on July 31, 1925.

[Photo: Public Library]

CATERING TO 'UNWASHED'

When America's first tabloid newspaper, the New York Daily News, debuted critics accused it of being lowbrow - and catering to the "unwashed." Its editors countered the Daily News carried more soap advertisements than The New York Times or any other newspaper in the city.

NATIONAL NEWS: CRACKING DOWN ON PRESS FREEDOM

The Associated Press reports the Pentagon is cracking down on press freedom, requiring journalists at the Defense Department to sign a pledge to refrain from reporting information that has not been authorized for release, including unclassified items.

BODY IN BOX

Police arrested a man after a woman's body was found in a box at the Perch Apartments at 7791 West 52nd Avenue in Arvada, reports say.

CLIMBER DIES

A climber fell and suffered a fatal injury Saturday in Idaho Springs, official said.

DISABLED MAN MISSING IN COMMERCE CITY

FLASH UPDATE - Wicasa Wanbli Black Elk has been located, CBI says. A disabled man, Wicasa Wanbli Black Elk, 48, is missing and was last seen in the vicinity of East 72nd Avenue and Popular Street in Commerce City, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation said Sunday. If seen, call 911.

GIRL, 15, MISSING FROM COLORADO SPRINGS

Missing Jayla Gallegos, 15, was last seen Saturday night in the 1000-block of Valkenburg Drive in Colorado Springs, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation said Sunday. If seen call Colorado Springs police at (719) 444-7000.

KABOB FIRE

South Metro firefighters battled a kabob shop fire early Saturday in a strip mall at 2020 South Parker Road in Arapahoe County. "There is extensive damage," officials said. No one was hurt.

[Photo: South Metro Fire Rescue]

DENVER POLICE BLOTTER: DEADLY HIT & RUN, FATAL SHOOTING

A pedestrian was killed in a hit-and-run accident crash in the vicinity of West 17th Avenue and North Sheridan Boulevard in Denver, police said Saturday. A person died in a shooting in the 1800-block of East 50th Place. A pedestrian was injured 550o-block of North Potomac Way. A motorcyclist was injured in the vicinity of North Federal Boulevard and West 6th Avenue.

COLD CASE: 3 MISSING, 1 DEAD IN PIKE NATIONAL FOREST IN 1981

Dametz

Atterberry and McNear

Ihm

Cindy Atterberry, 25, and Joe McNear, 30, vanished from Pike National Forest in Douglas County on June 27, 1981.

Their disappearances remain a mystery - as do two other 1981 cold cases from the annals of the national forest.

Atterberry and McNear, who moved to Colorado from Illinois, may have been shot during an argument with two men, also from Illinois, according to the Charley Project crime database.

A few years later, a tipster reported their bodies were stuffed in 55-gallon drums and buried on property owned by one of the men - near the South Platte River.

Searches of the property yielded no evidence in the mid-1980s - and the bizarre case went cold.

Two months before Atterberry and McNear vanished, Maurice “Doc” Dametz, 75, went missing in the Devil’s Hand section of the national forest on April 29,1981

Dametz was last seen rock hunting near Rampart Range Road. according to the Douglas County Sheriff Office's office cold case file.

On March 8,1981, the body of James Ihm, 29, was discovered at the national forest's Rainbow Falls Campground. Ihm had been shot to death, according to sheriff's office records.

[Photos: Douglas County Sheriff's Office]

MYSTERY DEEPENS OVER DEATHS OF 2 ELK HUNTERS

Investigators are puzzled about the deaths of two elk hunters missing for a week in southern Colorado.

There are no signs of trauma, a coroner says. More tests are planned. The bodies were located Thursday two miles from a trailhead in Conejos County. 

Andrew Porter, 25, of Asheville, North Carolia and Ian Stasko, 25, of Salt Lake City, were last heard from Sept. 11, their families said. They were hunting at the Rio Grande National Forest.

NO FISH STORY: STATE TROOPER NETS HOT ROD CADILLAC

Like an angler on the high seas, a state trooper skillfully netted a red Cadillac SRX with no license plates running at more than 100 mph on eastbound I-76 in Adams County early Friday, the Colorado State Patrol said.

The trooper used a police grappler, a device that that shoots nylon netting and tethers to wrap around the rear wheels of a fleeing auto. The grappler is installed on the front bumper of a patrol car.

As the Cadillac screeched to a stop near Sheridan Avenue, it collided with a concrete barrier, a temporary sign board and highway light pole - injuring the two occupants, who were taken to a hospital, the state patrol said.

The Cadillac driver faces a variety of charges.

[Photo: Grappler Police Bumper]