Custody Of Missing Colorado Woman’s Daughter Decided By Court After Father’s Arrest

The 1-year-old daughter of a missing Colorado woman will remain in the care of her maternal grandparents, but the mother of woman's fiancé, who has been arrested in connection with her presumed murder, is attempting to intervene.

Patrick Frazee was arrested last week in the Thanksgiving Day disapperance of Kelsey Berreth. Temporary physical custody of the couple's young daughter was granted to Berreth's parents during a closed hearing Thursday while legal custody remains with the Teller County Department of Human Services.

A court summary of Thursday's hearing says Frazee's mother filed a motion to intervene in the custody case and made an unspecified placement request. The summary didn't say whether she had asked for custody. The court delayed action on her requests.

Berreth had last been seen in public on surveillance video shopping at a grocery store in her hometown of Woodland Park, Colorado. Frazee said he also saw her that day when Berreth had dropped off their daughter.

Three days later, a text was sent from Berreth's phone telling an employee at Doss Aviation, a flight school in Colorado Springs where she worked as an instructor, that she would be taking the rest of the week off. That same day, Kelsey's phone pinged from Gooding, Idaho, which is 700 miles away from her hometown, according to East Idaho News.

Frazee was arrested on Dec. 21 and faces murder charges. Despite the lack of a body, authorities announced they did not believe Berreth was still alive. Police believe Berreth had been killed at her home in Woodland Park, according to 9News, a Denver, Colorado-based ABC affiliate.

Police announced the discovery of new evidence in the case on Wednesday but did not specify the nature of what they found. They also indicated that more individuals may face charges related to Berreth's death.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Photos: Teller County Jail, Facebook]