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Eagle-Vail teen found safe after search

Lauren Glendenning
lglendenning@vaildaily.com
Eagle-Vail, CO Colorado

EAGLE-VAIL, Colorado ” Several police agencies, including a National Guard helicopter, searched for an Eagle-Vail, Colorado teen who was threatening suicide Monday afternoon.

Eagle-Vail residents saw and heard police commotion after the 18-year-old man’s mother called police. Avon Police Chief Brian Kozak said the man’s mother called police saying her son had left the home with a rope he planned to use to hang himself. The man’s mother also suspected her son was carrying a knife, Kozak said.

Avon Police, the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, Minturn Police and the Colorado State Patrol responded and looked for the man, who Kozak said was last seen going up into the forest south of U.S. Highway 6, between Eagle-Vail and Beaver Creek. Local residents received a reverse 911 call updating them on what was happening, he said.



Kozak said police sent a search team to look for him and found him sitting in a tree, with a noose tied to the tree. When he saw police officers he ran, leaving the noose behind, Kozak said.

The agencies then called a SWAT team and the National Guard helicopter to help in the search, which lasted about four hours from the time of the call. An Avon police officer was in contact with the man on his cell phone and was able to convince him to surrender, Kozak said.

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He was taken into custody on a mental health hold, which lasts for 72 hours, to a hospital in Grand Junction, Kozak said. He was not carrying a knife.

Locals in crisis:

If you or anyone you know is showing signs of depression or suicide, call the local crisis hotline at 970-949-7086, or dial 911 for a crisis counselor.

Lauren Glendenning can be reached at (970)748-29283 or lglendenning@vaildaily.com.


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