Living in our mountain village, we often feel insulated from the more negative issues in our society. Estes Park's crime rate is low, people feel safe in our neighborhoods and we don't seem to have big city issues. But some issues are hidden from the public, just under the surface.

After hundreds of hours of undercover investigation, Chief Kufeld and District Attorney Cliff Riedel have authorized me to release the results of an investigation into one of these disturbing issues.

Since early July, the Estes Park Police Department (EPPD) has been working undercover, investigating a case of "community espionage" that one of our officers, Harmony Mason, discovered by chance. You may not have heard of the term "community espionage" before, but it is a problem that has persisted in many communities for decades.

While on routine patrol last July, Officer Mason noticed what appeared to be a prowler lurking behind a house on Chapin Lane. The prowler was described as wearing a green hoodie with red trim, about 3'2" and 100 pounds, with red hair and a full beard. Officer Mason tried to intercept the prowler but he seemed to just disappear. Now being aware of the M.O., Officer Mason notified Chief Kufeld and a special covert task force of the Estes Park Police Department was formed to investigate.

The EPPD has discovered a gang of prowlers that were operating throughout Estes Park. Investigators identified over 20 members of this gang, all apparently in the U.S. illegally. None had passports or work visas and they appear to have entered the country through Canada. The gang is linked to multiple reports of prowlers, yet they have never been connected to any robberies or other crimes. They all seem to be of the same small ethnic minority or possibly even related. Peculiarly, all members of the gang are under 3'3" in height and have what appears to be a common abnormality to their ears. Similar to other gangs, such as the Bloods and the Crips, these gang members always wear green and red. Although Officer Mason's initial description of the hoodie was later found by Detective Caleb Robertson to be more of a tunic type jacket accompanied by a conical green hat.

A major concern to investigators is the gang's propensity to be observing small children throughout the community. They appear to go to great lengths to avoid actual contact with children, but they do seem to be taking extensive notes on their behavior on a daily basis. Multiple attempts to apprehend these suspects all failed and we have no idea exactly where they have their base of operations in the community. We did manage

to get a GPS tracking and listening device on one of the gang members in September. This individual left the country, again through Canada, in late October. We lost track of his GPS signal somewhere over the Yukon territory. Transcripts of the listening device while he was still here did gain some useful intelligence.

 

The gang seems to have a single charismatic leader, often referred to as "The Man" or "The Big Guy." Although we were never able to determine their ultimate objective, they seem to be taking notes on the behavior of all Estes Park residents. The gang appear to be categorizing all the citizens into two categories. We were unable to identify exactly what the categories mean because all we were able to intercept were shorthand text messages. Names of citizens seemed to be connected to either a "N :-)" list or a "N :-(" list. Here in Estes Park, the "N :-)" list appears to be much longer than the "N :-( " list. Specific comments (redacted to protect the privacy of the victims) included items such as "ate all her Brussel sprouts," and " XXXX was a courteous driver," or " XXXX  plays well with others."

Gang activity peaked in mid-December, leading investigators to believe the gang was preparing for some type of major event beginning late in the evening on December 24 and ending in the wee hours of the morning on December 25. This event appears to be a coordinated effort with similar covert groups throughout the world.

No clear photographs are available of the subjects, but Captain Eric Rose was able to catch a silhouette of one of the subjects early one morning in August.

 

If you see anyone matching this silhouette and the description, please contact the Estes Park Police Department immediately. In the meantime, have a wonderful holiday season, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.