Category: krdo-local-news

Michael Logerwell

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo (KRDO) – Colorado Springs Police are asking drivers to avoid the Powers and N Carfree intersection because of a multi-car crash.

Photographs taken by the KRDO13 News Team at the accident show at least five cars involved in what appears to be a group of crashes. One car has been flipped on its side.

KRDO13 is working to learn more about the cause of the crash and the medical status of the drivers and passengers involved.

UPDATE:

The Colorado Springs Police Department says a police vehicle was one of seven cars involved in the crash. A police spokesperson Police tells us it started with a call for service near the intersection of North Carefree and Powers. Officers were trying to clear the intersection when another car came through, hitting a patrol car and triggering a seven-car crash.

“Two police vehicles were up here. They were clearing the intersections. They actually cleared northbound, and then a vehicle proceeded southbound through the intersection [and] collided. Not sure what happened, but multiple vehicles collided at that time,” Pam Farmer, Colorado Springs Police, told KRDO13.

Miraculously, officers say no one was hurt, including the driver in the car that flipped over.

Michael Logerwell

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – Where’s Waldo? Just ask El Paso County Search and Rescue! During training this weekend, volunteer teams managed to find and rescue a person notorious for blending into the background.

El Paso County Search and Rescue managed to find Waldo amongst the wilderness.

Officals say for rescue teams told KRDO13 finding him was only half the work. Crews also had to bandage up his leg and carry him out of the park. It was part of a fun mock training exercises for rescue teams as the weather warms back up and people, like Waldo, start venturing outside in the backcountry.

Mackenzie Stafford

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Colorado Springs police are investigating the murder of a woman on the east side of the city. A man, identified by police as her companion, was arrested in connection with the murder. 

Neighbors on Yuma St. tell KRDO13 they are used to seeing ambulances in the area. They say there’s a large elderly population living at the Salvation Army apartments, but this time, they were shocked to find out the ambulance they saw was in the neighborhood as part of a murder investigation. 

“It was our daughter’s birthday, so we were just coming home from eating out,” explained Skyla Earhart.

Earhart says when her family arrived at home they saw a large law enforcement presence just a few doors down from them on Yuma St.

The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) said they were responding to a call of a woman who was unconscious and not breathing. First responders declared her dead at the scene. 

CSPD said a man at the home revealed he had been in a physical and verbal disturbance with the woman before she died. 

RELATED: Man arrested for second-degree murder after dead girlfriend found inside home

He was arrested on second-degree murder charges. Learning that information put neighbors like Earhart, with a young daughter, on edge.

“It’s a very scary world with kids nowadays. So you just want to protect those around you. And just having that happen not too far from you, you’re kind of like, oh, I got to keep my eye out a little bit more,” shared Earhart.

Now, detectives with the CSPD homicide unit are working to figure out what led up to the woman’s death.  

“I really just hope that they can come to a conclusion on what happened and hope that the family of those that were impacted are helped during this time. Because it’s a very difficult time, especially losing loved ones that you have and not knowing what happened,” said Earhart.

Police are not releasing the identity of either individual at this time due to the nature of the investigation. 

Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The Pikes Peak chapter of Bikers Against Child Abuse (BACA) is celebrating 16 years of helping children in Southern Colorado. The group is a strong advocate of Child Abuse Prevention Month, recognized in the United States every April.

After a strict training process, BACA members ride as a group to the home of a child who has suffered abuse. They give the child a matching leather jacket and bring them on a ride along, welcoming the child into the BACA family. The group will also stay by the home if they feel the abuser could still be a threat and will show up to the court date to help the child feel confident while testifying against their abuser.

BACA is an international organization going on 30 years. The Pikes Peak riders are celebrating their chapter anniversary Saturday, April 12 at Murray Street Darts in Colorado Springs at 6 p.m. Anyone is welcome.

BACA’s Helpline to request support is 1-800-230-4852. It has to be requested by a legal guardian.

Josh Helmuth

MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO0 – Usually, the only time you hear the name Emma Crawford is during Halloween. Not this year. Not in Manitou Springs.

The Manitou Springs Middle School orchestra and choir banded together to perform the Emma Crawford Suite last week. It was a memorable symphony written by their band instructor, Taylor Weimer, and his friend, Danny Tramel, several years ago.

The composition takes the audience through the story of Crawford’s arrival to Manitou over 100 years ago, her death from Tuberculosis, and then her ride down Red Mountain inside her coffin during torrential rains.

It was 80 students playing and singing together in a memorable performance that families will talk about for a long time. Despite limited rehearsal time, Weimer says they nailed it.

“After a lot of hard work in class, and only two full orchestra rehearsals, the students delivered a stellar performance,” he said.

Is there something remarkable happening at your school? Email Josh at SchoolBuzz@KRDO.com.

Celeste Springer

MOSCA, Colo. (KRDO) – A Colorado Springs family says their dog has become a mini celebrity after a months-long search and joyful reunification.

Christine Ault wrote to KRDO13, stating that her dog, Star, ran off their property in the San Luis Valley area about 190 days ago.

Ault says her family spent weekends traveling from the springs back to the Mosca area in search of Star. Flyers were made, and hours were spent going through pet lost and found Facebook groups, she said.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. Ault said the only plus side in their heartbroken search was they met many locals along the way who were just as passionate as they were about finding Star.

Over the weekend, news came which finally drew their search to a close. Ault said a post on a local Facebook page prompted another trip to the San Luis Valley. They were able to find Star all the way in Alamosa.

While Star has shown she has chops as an escape artist and survival expert, her family is excited to have her back home where she will resume time as a therapy dog in a mental health office.

Welcome home, Star!

Mackenzie Stafford

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – According to the El Paso County Coroner’s Office, 97-year-old Corrye Brewer died as a result of hypothermia. They say Brewer was left outside of an unoccupied home on Judge Orr Road in Calhan. The coroner’s office says she was dropped off there by a family member on January 24, 2025, without her walker. In the time she was missing, the coroner’s office says temperatures were as low as 16 degrees with wind and snow. Brewer was found deceased on January 26, 2025, lying where she had been left, according to the coroner’s autopsy report.

The coroner said they believe the 97-year-old was intentionally left in the cold without any way to return home, get to adequate shelter, or call for help. Due to that reasoning, the coroner’s autopsy report ruled Brewer’s death a homicide.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO) asked the District Attorney’s Office to review the case to determine if criminal charges should be filed. EPSO tells KRDO13 the District Attorney’s office will make a recommendation.

We asked EPSO about the claims in the coroner’s autopsy report. They have not answered those requests as of Monday night.

On Wednesday morning, the District Attorney’s office told KRDO13 they have not received a file for review in connection with Corrye Brewer. We reached back out to EPSO for clarification and will update this article when we get a response.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Body found in Falcon believed to be missing 97-year-old woman

KRDO13 spoke with two of Brewer’s grandchildren who live in Atlanta. They say Corrye Brewer was a sharp woman who loved crossword puzzles and her family. They tell KRDO13 she had 11 kids who now live all across the country. 

Weeks ago, the two grandchildren got a call that their grandmother had gone missing, only to receive another call days later that she had been found dead in the cold. 

“For somebody to be, that’s 97, with the body fat of less than nutrition out in 16 degree weather, the pain of death, by freezing to death by hypothermia for somebody that’s 97 is devastating,” said Brewer’s Grandson, Paul Brewer Jr.

Brewer’s grandchildren we spoke with, do not speak with the family members the 97-year-old was living with at the time.

Her grandchildren tell KRDO13 they want answers and accountability.

“We just want it brought out to the light. She is gone, and we would hope that someone would take the time to provide answers for the family,” explained Brewer’s granddaughter, Shari Robinson.

KRDO13 called and left messages for the family member in question and even went out to their home to get their side of the story. As of Monday night, we have not heard from them. 

Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — The Pikes Peak Regional Office of Emergency Management (PPROEM) is starting the process of updating its hazardous mitigation plan to prepare for, and recover from, disasters such as floods and wildfires.

The PPROEM formed in 2019 to consolidate emergency management functions by the El Paso County and eight municipalities under one umbrella.

The five-year plan will be the second for the PPROEM; the first was completed in 2020 and the updated plan becomes effective next year if approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Meredith Nichols, a deputy PPROEM deputy director, said that the plan accomplishes two objectives: To agree on projects that will prevent or minimize damage from disasters; and to qualify for funding to pay for mitigation efforts and damage repair after disasters.

The PPROEM monitors disaster impacts to buildings, infrastructure and critical facilities. 

“So, we are looking to see if there’s any risks that we’ve seen from 2020 to 2025 that have increased,” she explained. “You know, wildfire risk is increasing everywhere. So, we look at that flooding risk, but also looking at some cyber-security risk, as well. And so, all of those natural- and human-caused hazards and threats are identified. And we rank them as priorities, or most likely to happen in our region.”

Just last week, KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior reported on three projects in the eastern part of the county to repair extensive damage from flooding in June 2023.

Those projects qualified for for $6.5 million in funding from the National Resource Conservation Services Grant; the county was required to provide $1.9 million from its emergency reserve fund.

The anticipation of such an allocation is why county commissioners in 2017 began putting more money into the fund during better economic times.

Finally, the PPROEM is seeking public feedback in formulating the updated plan; citizens can fill out an online survey and attend a series of virtual and in-person meetings starting this month.

For more information, visit: https://pproem.com/HMPUpdate.