Author: KRDO

KRDO News

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO) says that its FLOCK camera system led them to a stolen vehicle, the theft suspects, and 32.4 grams of meth.

EPSO says that on Sept. 6, the cameras detected a Jeep that they say was reported stolen.

The theft suspect, 29-year-old Arturo Velasquez, was also listed “as armed and dangerous, with parole and gang-member alerts,” EPSO said.

It wasn’t until the Jeep got into the area of Maxwell Street and Highway 85 that a Fountain Police Department (FPD) officer saw it and alerted EPSO.

The sheriff’s office says after they arrived, the suspect reversed into the FPD car and tried to get away. The Jeep then collided with a special EPSO tactical car, which brought them to a stop.

EPSO says they found Arturo Velasquez inside the Jeep alongside 34-year-old Ariana Valverde. The sheriff’s office says they also found more than 30 grams of meth during the search.

“This was a dangerous situation which could have ended much differently,” said El Paso County Sheriff Joseph Roybal in a press release. “A suspect who is armed, dangerous, and focused on escaping poses a significant threat not only to law enforcement but to the community. Thanks to the vigilance of our deputies, the quick action of our partners at the Fountain Police Department, and the technology of FLOCK Safety cameras, this suspect was stopped without injury to the public or our deputies. This case underscores the importance of strong partnerships, proactive policing, and teamwork in protecting our community.”

The sheriff’s office says Ariana Valverde was charged with motor vehicle theft, driving under the influence of drugs, and resisting arrest. She is being held on a $3,000 bond.

Arturo Velasquez faces charges for motor vehicle theft, attempted second-degree assault on a peace officer, attempted felony eluding, resisting arrest, possession of a controlled substance, and criminal mischief, according to the sheriff’s office. Those charges resulted in a $3,000 bond, however court records also show he has a parole hold.

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Scott Harrison

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — A dozen or so homeowners along a gravel road just south of Black Forest are finally getting what they’ve wanted all along.

Asphalt pavement to eliminate slick, muddy conditions in wet weather on Glider Loop.

County officials recently changed their original plan to apply a double chip-seal pavement to the mile-long road and to put down an asphalt layer instead.

Paving is scheduled to begin on Thursday.

Crews spent the past week scraping off the existing gravel layer and hauling it away in dump trucks, in a process similar to the milling of old asphalt.

According to some neighbors, the muddy conditions began after heavy rain a year ago.

Those neighbors believe that, in an attempt to resolve the problem, crews applied clay-based gravel that absorbs water instead of sand-based material that promotes drainage.

“I think this was trial and error,” said neighbor Evelyn Billek. “A chip seal just wasn’t going to work.”

But Dan Gerhard, a county engineer, disagrees.

“We used material approved by CDOT (the Colorado Department of Transportation),” he said. “We don’t really know why that road is so muddy. We do know that gravel roads react differently to moisture in different parts of the county.”

KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior will continue to follow the developments on Glider Loop.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The Care and Share Food Bank of Colorado Springs said a donation from the Abram and Ray Kaplan Foundation will allow the food pantry to match every donation up to $50,000 for the month of September.

Nationwide, food pantries are doing community outreach for “Hunger Action Month” in September, and “Hunger Action Day” on Tuesday, September 9.

Tune into Good Morning Colorado, where KRDO13’s Bradley Davis is live with Care and Share CEO and President, Nate Springer.

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Rob Namnoum

Top prep performances for the week of September 4th.

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Michael Logerwell

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – On July 15, 1986, seven-month-old Christopher Abeyta went missing from his family’s home in Colorado Springs.

Since then, Colorado Springs Police have made no arrests, and the family hasn’t seen or heard from baby Christopher.

But they’re not giving up hope.

RELATED: New age progression image released for boy abducted out of Colorado Springs

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) released this photo last week. It’s an age-progressed image of what a 39-year-old Christopher would look like today.

Over the years, the Abeyta family has had nine aged-up images of Christopher created, trying to keep his disappearance in the public eye in hopes it leads to new tips.

While family members tell KRDO13 Investigates they are confident in the accuracy of this image, they’re not putting all their hope into this one image.

Rather, his youngest sister called it one tool in the toolbox to find him.

Different age-progressed sketches and images of Christopher Abeyta.

“I also do have a concern that people would be just looking for a person that looks like them without looking at there’s going to be circumstances with that person,” Denise Abeyta Alves says they’re not looking for look-a-likes.

“There’s got to be, hey, they don’t have infant pictures of up until seven months old. There are questions about their identity,” Denise Abeyta Alves said. “And then they have to look at Christopher’s case information.”

Denise Abeyta Alves was 15 years old on July 15, 1986, when her baby brother went missing. Details of that night have been burned into her mind. They had family friends over for dinner, her parents’ anniversary had just passed, and baby Christopher had hit some milestones.

“It was the first time he grabbed his hands on the coffee table and raised himself up,” Abeyta Alves reminisced. She added that it was the first night she bottle-fed him and even offered to tend to him that night if he woke up crying, but that didn’t happen.

Instead, after the family went to sleep at 12:30 a.m., something else happened in the middle of the night.

“I heard her [my mother] very loudly. ‘Christopher, he’s not here. Where’s Christopher? He’s not here,” Abeyta Alves remembered the panic from the next morning.

In the passing days, months, and years, Abeyta Alves says the family realized they were being stalked. She remembers receiving consistent hang-up calls late at night to her home and her uncle’s home in Pueblo— even once when a woman showed up at her grandparents’ home looking for family pictures. The woman told them it was for a high school class reunion, which Abeyta Alves says they later learned was never planned.

As of publication, no arrests have been made.

Worth a thousand words

This most recent image of a 39-year-old Christopher Abeyta was created by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).

In an NCMEC blog post from February, the organization says a team of four forensic scientists is “responsible for the creation of more than 7,800 age progressions of long-term missing children and more than 300 reconstructions of unidentified deceased children.”

NCMEC says their artists work in Adobe Photoshop and study skull development, analyze family traits and use ancestry clues when creating the aged-up images.

It’s come a long way since the late 1980s, when the Abeyta family was relying on sketch artists.

More information and updates about Christoper Abeyta can be found on the Facebook page run by the family.

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Celeste Springer

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — On Sept. 24, the Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) will hold an unveiling for Fire Station 24.

Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade and Fire Chief Randy Royal are expected to give remarks, CSFD says.

The new station, located off New Life Drive, looks to serve a growing population and lower response times. Last year, CSFD said they wanted to keep their response times around 8 minutes or less for 90% of their calls for service. The new station is expected to shave off seconds of their average response time.

While the unveiling is on Sept. 24, staff expect the new station to be in full operation by Sept. 10.

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Scott Harrison

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) — Two factors beyond officials’ control are delaying the construction of a new Union Avenue bridge on the south end of the historic downtown area.

The bridge, built in 1925, is rated in poor condition; officials regularly inspect and perform maintenance to keep it safe for traffic.

However, the structure over the Arkansas River hasn’t had a major renovation since 1988.

The bridge is a vital link between downtown and the neighborhoods to the south.

Last fall, the city received $15 million in state and federal funds to replace the aging bridge.

However, Chuck Roy, the city’s acting public works director, said that progress toward replacing the bridge is affected by two recent developments — inflation, which has increased construction costs, and a requirement by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway and the Union Pacific Railroad to increase the new bridge’s clearance across the tracks.

“The biggest challenge right now with that bridge is the height clearance, he explained. “There are new height regulations over the railroad tracks, and we are short by 3 or 4 feet on what that is.”

Those factors have increased the estimated cost of replacing the bridge to at least $40 million.

“We thought that it wasn’t going to be as much originally when we submitted the grant request several years ago,” Roy said. “But, with inflated pricing and then with the further design review on it, it’s going to be expensive.”

Indications are that 2027 is the earliest year construction could begin.

Roy also said that to meet the new clearance requirement, the new bridge would need to be built slightly east of its present location, closer to the Main Street bridge.

It’s unclear if that would affect the Fuel & Iron Food Hall adjacent to the bridge.

One viewer contacted KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior to express skepticism about the planned new bridge.

“It seems to me it’s not needed,” John Eversole wrote. “I think we should just tear it down. The Main Street bridge is enough to handle the traffic, and an additional bridge that close is just a waste of money, although I understand its historical place in our area. The Union Avenue merchants may not like the idea, but the bridge really doesn’t get that much traffic across it anyway.”

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Michael Logerwell

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – At 2:15 a.m. Colorado Springs Police went out to Astrozon Blvd after they received calls of a nightclub disturbance that turned into more.

Police officers say that once they arrived at the club, located in the 3700 block of Astrozon, they learned the disturbance spilled outside the club into the parking lot. Once outside, police say they learned that at least two people confronted a man, assaulted him, and stole a firearm from him. Shortly after this, gunshots were heard in the area.

While investigating, police found the suspects’ vehicle had returned to the scene.

Police say they’ve arrested Karriem Johnson and Lugene Burnett. The pair is facing charges of assault and aggravated robbery.

During the course of the arrest, police say they arrested another person who approached the suspect vehicle and interfered with the arrest of the suspects. They have been charged with obstruction of a peace officer.

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Marina Garcia

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Colorado Springs Police haven’t arrested anyone after a shooting that killed one person and injured another at an apartment complex near North Academy Blvd. and Mitchell High School.

Police say they responded to the shooting at approximately 11:09 PM on September 6, 2025.

When they arrived at the apartment complex on Potter Dr., officers located a person already dead with at least one gunshot wound.

There was another individual reported to have a gunshot wound, but it was not life-threatening. That person was transported to the hospital.

KRDO13 spoke to the owner of San Miguel Wellness, which shares a fence with the apartment complex. The owner says she was awake doing laundry when she heard multiple gunshots.

“My husband had gone to sleep already, so I debated about waking him up to come and see what was happening. But I definitely heard gunshots. Several all in a row. And then I started hearing a woman crying out very loud. I mean, it was just on the other side of this fence…and she did not stop until the cops got there,” says Cheryl Atencio, CEO of San Miguel Wellness.

Police tell us no one has been arrested in connection with this shooting. If anyone has information related to this incident, call CSPD at 719-444-7000.

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Michael Logerwell

CHAFFEE COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – Mt. Princeton is proving not to be pup-friendly. This weekend marked the third time this year search and rescue has had to take a dog off the +14,000ft Chaffee County Mountain.

The North Chaffee County Search and Rescue posted these pictures on social media. The rescue team says they got the call at 2:38 PM and reached the Pup-ject at 4:36 PM. The team says the dog needed first aid for his paws, which is why they are taped up in the pictures above.

This marks the third rescue and sixth dog the rescue team has helped down Mt. Princeton this year.

This is a cautionary tail for all dog owners; Do your research before you go hiking!

More information on North Chaffee County Search and Rescue can be found here.

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