COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A former El Paso County Deputy who disappeared into Rocky Mountain National Park is now free after taking a plea deal.
Search crews looked for Kevin Sypher after investigators say he walked into the park in 2023. He was arrested this past April on charges of misconduct in office, theft and charitable fraud.
Sypher lied to his colleagues about having cancer and took more than $20,000 of their donations to help pay for his health care, according to documents charging him with the
crimes. However, the documents said, the 57-year-old from Parker, Colorado used his colleagues' money to pay for vacations, jewelry, and purchases at Amazon and the Home Depot.
Sypher also used his official capacity as a sheriff's deputy to access databases for personal reasons, according to the documents. They say he even tried to influence a subordinate to pose as a doctor on a phone call to forward his lie about having cancer.
Sypher worked for the El Paso County Sheriff's Office for 11 years. He took a plea deal, only entering a guilty plea to the charges of theft and misconduct in office. He'll serve two years of supervised probation after paying the $3,000 bond for his release.
"Kevin Sypher is a good and decent man. He got over his head and always intended to pay people back," said Sypher's attorney Michael Stuzynski told News 5.
He added that a mental health episode was associated with this case and that Sypher is now being treated by mental health professionals.
Stuzynski explained the two-year deferred sentence associated with the theft charge as part of the plea deal. If Sypher serves his full two year probation without issue, the charge will be removed from his record.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story indicated that Sypher pleaded guilty to a charge of charitable fraud. That charge was dropped as part of the plea deal.
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