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Three Arrested In Case Of Missing Colorado Woman
Police say they expect charges against Casey Childers, Shantel Edlund, and Leo VanBuskirk to be upgraded to murder after finding a woman's body.
Three people from Wyoming are facing murder charges in the disappearance of a Colorado woman after a body was discovered last week, police say.
Casey Childers, 39, Leo VanBuskirk, 23, and Shantel Edlund, 43, were arrested on charges related to the disappearance of an unnamed woman, according to a news release from the Aurora Police Department in Colorado. Police stated they expect charges to be upgraded to first-degree murder in the coming days.
The Fort Collins Police Department contacted the Aurora Police Major Crime Homicide Unit regarding the 29-year-old victim who disappeared from Aurora, according to the release. Authorities believe the woman was kidnapped on Nov. 6, 2021, near the corner of East Colfax Avenue and North Victor Street. Following leads about three suspects driving a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu, authorities learned the car was spotted in the area of Highway 83 and Russellville Road in Douglas County one day later.
On Wednesday, nearly two months after the abduction, local police arrested Childers, VanBuskirk, and Edlund on unrelated charges in Sheridan, Wyoming, according to police. The following day, Aurora detectives secured arrest warrants, charging the trio with first-degree kidnapping. The suspects were booked into the Sheridan County Detention Center.
On Friday, following the arrests, investigators responded to a call to the same area where the Chevrolet Malibu was seen. They believe the body found there may be that of the 29-year-old missing woman.
“Today, with the assistance of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, investigators responded to that area of Highway 83 and Russellville Road where they located a deceased female, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound,” police stated. “The identity of this female will be confirmed and released by the Douglas County Coroner’s Office after a positive identification and notification of next-of-kin.”
While the suspects remain booked on kidnapping charges, police said they “will most likely be charged with first-degree murder in the coming days.”
More information is expected to be released pending an arrest affidavit and formal identification of the victim.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.
