UPDATE: FRIDAY 12/28/2024 10:45 a.m.
(EL PASO COUNTY, Colo.) — EPSO reported that law enforcement in Hattiesburg, Mississippi located the 1994 Ford F-150 pick-up truck early on Saturday, Dec. 28. According to EPSO, law enforcement in both Mississippi and Colorado are continuing the search for Hailey Cole and Johnny Rankin Morris.
Both are considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached. If spotted, call 911 to reach local law enforcement.
PREVIOUS HEADLINE: Death, missing persons cases linked in Park and El Paso Counties
UPDATE: FRIDAY 12/27/2024 5:02 p.m.
(PARK COUNTY, Colo.) — The Park County Coroner’s Office has identified the person found dead in Park County during the search for two missing men.
According to the coroner, the person was identified as 65-year-old Timmy L. Hudson of Hartsel. Hudson’s death is under investigation by multiple agencies, including the coroner’s office, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the Park County Sheriff’s Office, and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.
THURSDAY 12/26/2024 4:36 p.m.
(EL PASO/PARK COUNTY, Colo.) — The search for an Audi in connection to two missing El Paso County men has taken a deadly turn, with the discovery of the Audi and the body of an adult man in Park County.
According to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO), the investigation began just before 7 p.m. on Dec. 19, when deputies responded to a home on Pima Drive in the Cimarron Hills area of unincorporated El Paso County. While on scene, deputies discovered “large quantities of blood” in multiple locations throughout the home.
As a result of that investigation, EPSO issued a “Be On the Lookout” (BOLO) for two missing men, 46-year-old John Rankin Morris and 37-year-old Stephen Walker. On Monday, Dec. 23, EPSO asked the community for help looking for a black Audi A4 with Colorado license plate “MYZFYT” that was tied to the missing persons case.
Then, on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, Park County deputies responded to a home on Campfire Road near Hartsel for a welfare check. While responding, deputies found a black Audi at a trailhead about half a mile from the Campfire Road home, and it matched the BOLO for the El Paso County missing persons case.
EPSO was contacted, and deputies responded to the scene in Park County. Meanwhile, Park County deputies searched the Campfire Road home on the welfare check, where they found an adult man dead. Due to the suspicious nature of the death and the pending investigation’s scope, EPSO said Park County has requested the assistance of EPSO and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Now, EPSO is asking the community to be on the lookout for a blue 1994 Ford F-150 pickup truck with a distinct “HUNTER” sticker on the left fender. The truck bears Colorado license plate TQQ039. EPSO said the truck could still be in Colorado or possibly en route to Mississippi.
EPSO is still looking for the two missing men from the Cimarron Hills call. Stephen Walker is 5’11” tall and weighs 160 pounds with tan skin, black hair, brown eyes, and tattoos on his right arm. EPSO said he is missing under “suspicious circumstances.”
John Rankin Morris is a white man,150 pounds, 5’9″ tall with short-cut brown and grey hair, blue eyes, and a tattoo on his right ear. EPSO said Morris is a person of interest in the Cimarron Hills incident.
In addition, EPSO is now also searching for 43-year-old Hailey Diane Cole, described as a white woman, 5’5″ tall and weighing 145 pounds. She has medium-length brown hair and blue eyes. Cole is also a person of interest in the Cimarron Hills call.
Both Morris and Cole are considered armed and dangerous, so anyone who sees them should not interact and instead call 911 immediately. If you have information on either the Park County or Cimarron Hills incident, or if you have seen the Ford F-150, you are urged to contact EPSO’s non-emergent line at (719)390-5555.
The investigation is ongoing, and the identity of the person found dead in Park County will be released by the El Paso County Coroner’s Office.