The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
It is now safe(r) to pick up hitchhikers
By Adam Broderick
A warning to not pick up hitchhikers went out last weekend but did not give much information, other than two young males stole a vehicle in Salida and may have been on the loose, possibly armed, in Gunnison County.
The Gunnison Police Department Safety Alert read: “Chaffee County Sheriff’s Department was pursuing a stolen vehicle out of their jurisdiction. The pursuit ended as [they] traveled into Gunnison County. The vehicle later left Gunnison traveling eastbound. The stolen vehicle with two occupants abandoned the vehicle in the area of Parlin. At this time there are two male occupants at large.”
Turns out there were three young males when police detained the party at about 3 p.m. on Friday, June 12 near the summit of Cumberland Pass. One was 15 years old, one was 19 and one was 20. Gunnison County undersheriff Randy Barnes said the two adults involved were arrested and the juvenile will be dealt with in Salida, where the theft occurred.
According to Barnes, a Toyota Tundra with keys left inside was stolen in Salida last Thursday morning. “A witness made a phone call to dispatch stating they just witnessed three young male subjects jump in the back of a vehicle and the vehicle drove off,” Barnes explained. So the residents of the Parlin area were notified of the situation by a reverse 911 call, and while the drivers were running from police they crashed in Parlin on Hwy. 50.
Barnes said the truck was totaled in the crash and the owner has been notified. While trying to flee, the men were apprehended on Cumberland Pass, and they carried no weapons.
As for the charges they face, Barnes said, “That is a long list! They are facing two counts of burglary, one count of stolen motor vehicle, three counts of eluding, three counts of hit and run, three counts of leaving the scene of an accident.”
The minor would potentially face charges for the same crimes, but authorities still have to figure out exactly who did what in the grand scheme of things, including who the main culprit was and who the accomplices were.
The lead investigative agency for this case is the Salida Police Department. Local agencies as well as Parlin and Pitkin citizens are credited for helping resolve the situation safely, along with the Gunnison Police Department, Colorado State Patrol, Mt. Crested Butte Police Department, Crested Butte Marshal’s Office, Gunnison County Sheriff’s Office, Saguache County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Land Management.
