Suspicious Death Investigation Closes Down Hwy. 67
Officials Tight-Lipped About Details
Trevor Phipps
Last Thursday, an alert was issued by the Teller County Sheriff’s Office informing the community that Hwy. 67 South between Divide and Cripple Creek was closed.
This triggered a plethora of reports and considerable speculation and some concerns. It also put Teller County on the national spotlight, with the incident getting mentioned by major media outlets across the country. This also had a big impact on traffic to and from the Teller gaming community on March 2.
Later in the day, officials announced that the highway was shuttered due to the investigation of a suspicious death. Details still are quite fuzzy regarding the incident, with law enforcement officials remaining tight-lipped.
The highway was closed reportedly for more than four hours, while the sheriff’s office investigated the scene. At one point during the day, a spokesperson announced that a statement would be released to the public, but then officials stated that no information would be given because the situation regarding the dead body was still under investigation.
This comes on the heel of two other murder/suicide incidents in recent months, with some residents now worried about these recurring serious crime incidents.
Before the sheriff’s office sent out the road closure alert, they made a post social media asking for help from the public to find 21 year-old Eduardo “Lalo” Castaneda who was reported missing after being last seen in the area on Feb. 27. Speculation mounted that his disappearance was linked to the latest investigation. According to posts on social media from Castaneda’s family members, the missing man’s body was found, which prompted the road closure.
Family members described Castaneda as a happy individual who had a positive impact on many people.
However, the sheriff’s office had not confirmed the identity of the body by the end of last week. More information is said to be released once the investigation is complete. As of press time, an autopsy was scheduled to be conducted on the body that was discovered.
Update:
On March 6, the Teller County Sheriff’s Office posted the following update on their social media pages:
The coroner has confirmed today that the body found on highway 67 on Thursday, March 2nd in Divide, Colorado is in fact that of missing individual Eduardo Castaneda. This is still an ongoing investigation into a suspicious death and our office will not be commenting on the case at this time.