CONEJOS COUNTY, Colo. — After the remains of three people were discovered in a rural part of Conejos County, authorities announced Wednesday that they are searching for a suspect who is well-known in the area by his nickname: Psycho.
In a press conference Wednesday, Monte Vista Police Chief George Dingfelder said on Nov. 10, the Conejos County Sheriff's Office conducted a search warrant in a rural location in the county near the town of Las Sauces — also written as La Sauses, Lasauses, Los Sauces and Los Sauses. The search warrant was related to stolen equipment and vehicles.
Investigators found human remains during the search.
Conejos County Sheriff Garth Crowther said based on information from the scene, a task force was formed on Nov. 13, consisting of Conejos County, Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Alamosa Police Department, Saguache County Sheriff's Office, Monte Vista Police Department and Colorado State Patrol.
Crowther said his sheriff's office simply wasn't big enough to handle "what we were running into."
A few days after the initial search, based on evidence they found at the property, they investigated a second property, where they found more human remains. The two locations are close to one another.
The property owners were not living at the locations at the time. There was no information available on how long the remains had been there.
During Wednesday's press conference, Dingfelder said the human remains had not been connected to any missing persons cases, adding that that would be irresponsible and purely speculation.
A forensic anthropologist confirmed that the remains found included at least three people. Their identities, genders and ages are under investigation and may take several weeks or months to verify due to the condition they were in, Dingfelder said.
Based on the investigation, Alamosa Police Chief Ken Anderson said the police department has "clearly identified" a suspect: 26-year-old Adre Jordan Baroz, of the Sanford area. He is still on the run and should be considered armed and dangerous, Anderson said.
Anderson said he is well-known by the nickname "Psycho."
He said it's too early to categorize Baroz as a serial killer.
Anybody who sees him should call 911, he said.
"Our main goal is to get him off the street," he said. "He's a danger to the public right now."
According to court documents, Baroz has previously spent time in prison for charges related to drugs and assault.
There's a month or two left of investigating, Anderson said. He added that they don't often see cases like this one.
Dingfelder said there are many missing people from southern Colorado, and the area of the crime scenes are very close to the New Mexico border. It won't be clear for at least several weeks if the deceased people had been reported missing, or where they had been missing from.
On Tuesday, when the discovery was announced, CBI said a tip line has been set up to gather information related to the case. Anybody with information is asked to call 719-270-0210.
The following law enforcement agencies are assisting in this investigation:
- Conejos County Sheriff’s Office
- Saguache County Sheriff’s Office
- Alamosa Police Department
- Monte Vista Police Department
- Colorado Bureau of Investigation
Chris Schaefer of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation said there is absolutely no indication that the missing persons case of Suzanne Morphew is connected to this case.
