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Odd details emerge in kidnapping case

Cliff Thompson
Special to the DailyMichael S. Moore
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VAIL -Michael S. Moore probably won’t have fond memories of his 35th birthday.He’s facing a boatload of charges after allegedly staging a kidnapping last Thursday night (his birthday) that started when two men armed with a pistol forced their way into his apartment on Spruce Way in East Vail. The men, whom police consider “confederates,” threatened Moore, told him to wrap his wife up with duct tape – which he allegedly did – and said they wanted to see him have sex with her, according to the criminal complaint investigators filed with the Eagle County court. Moore, a painter, told police that at the time of the incident he was high on psychedelic mushrooms, but did not admit that he staged his own abduction, according to the complaint.Moore said the armed man forced him to drive his own car to 1st Bank in Vail Village and withdraw money from his wife’s account. Moore said he escaped from the man while driving west on I-70, when he realized the weapon was a BB gun, and spent that night in Denver, according to the complaint. Moore was apparently in the valley at least part of Friday. He attended a party in Beaver Creek and spent the night at a friend’s house, where he was taken into custody Saturday afternoon. When police knocked on the door of the Wildridge apartment, Moore answered, stepped out, put his hands up and said “I give up,” the complaint says. Moore is charged with false imprisonment, aggravated robbery, menacing, theft, domestic violence and false reporting to authorities.”A number of things during the investigation just didn’t add up,” said Vail Detective Sgt. Susan Douglas, adding that a number of questions about the incident are unanswered.

Mother’s phone callOne break came Saturday morning after Moore’s mother in Illinois called Vail police after being told that a newspaper had reported her son kidnapped. She said her son had telephoned her the evening after the kidnapping incident and told her he was staying in a Denver hotel because he’d had a fight with his “girlfriend,” the complaint said. But police said Moore spent at least part of Friday at a party in Beaver Creek. Friends at the party said Moore did not appear upset, nor did he mention a kidnapping or being held at gunpoint, according to the complaint. Though the story did not appear in the Vail Daily until Saturday morning, it was posted on the paper’s Web site Friday afternoon. Moore’s wife, whose identity is not being revealed, remains in protective custody in an undisclosed location, Douglas said. Moore’s wife was not physically harmed during the incident.Moore’s wife told police that while she was tied up in a bedroom, she overheard the Hispanic males, who were watching television, say that they were bored and wanted to watch her perform oral sex on Moore. Moore, she said, entered the bedroom and told his wife one of the intruders was going to have sex with her, according to the complaint.After her husband left with one of the men, she said she was able to unbind her hands and feet. She was preparing to leap out a window when the men returned. Her husband came into the bedroom and told her the men were going to take him to an undisclosed location and that he would contact her later, according to the complaint.

He told her to find a safe place to stay and not to call police for an hour. She called the cops almost immediately. “Until we find those other guys we want to make sure she’s safe,” Douglas said. “She’s really the victim in all this. She’s not being charged.”Gun in closetPolice reports said security photos taken at a Vail bank shortly after the reported kidnapping show Moore using his wife’s ATM to withdraw $400. They also said they found a receipt from a local hardware store for duct tape – purchased the day of the incident – in Moore’s work clothing. An unloaded .22 caliber revolver – matching Moore’s wife description of the weapon used in the incident – was found in a backpack in a closet in Moore’s apartment, according to the complaint. Police are still seeking two Hispanic males whom they are calling “conspirators.” One is described as 6 feet 1 inches tall, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, a black gator, dark sunglasses, black pants and cowboy boots. A second man is described as 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing about 150 pounds to 160 pounds and wearing a gray sweatshirt with a hood, red gator, blue jeans and white tennis shoes.Moore has a previous domestic violence arrest in Vail, Douglas said. Wednesday morning Moore posted a $25,000 bond and was released from the Eagle County jail, but could not be reached for comment.



Staff Writer Cliff Thompson can be reached at 949-0555, ext. 450, or cthompson@vaildaily.com.On the WebTo read the criminal complaint against Michael Moore go to https://www.vaildaily.com/article/20050518/NEWS/50518035Vail Colorado


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