Multi-state manhunt ends near Baggs

On the evening of August 26, the hunt for a suspect involved in a drive-by shooting in Denver came to a dramatic end on Highway 789 between Baggs and Rawlins. 

By the time law enforcement apprehended 30 year old Jose Valdez of Craig, Colorado, he had been pursued across state lines and through five Wyoming communities. Encampment K-12 School also initiated a two-hour delay on Thursday morning to allow law enforcement to search the property.

With the pursuit of Valdez beginning in Colorado, both he and Jackson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) deputies crossed into Wyoming in the early hours of the morning. At approximately 1 a.m., both the Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP) and the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) were notified of the pursuit, according to Lieutenant Caleb Hobbs of the WHP.

As Valdez entered the Encampment/Riverside area, JCSO lost sight of the suspect as he had crashed his vehicle in a culvert at the intersection of Wyoming Highway 130 and Wyoming Highway 70. From there, the suspect exited the vehicle and escaped on foot. The WHP and CCSO, along with the Encampment Police Department and Saratoga Police Department, began to canvas the area for Valdez.

From approximately 1 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., local and state law enforcement searched through various outbuildings on properties within the area. Checkpoints, also, had been set up by law enforcement in hopes of apprehending Valdez. Due to the presence of a potentially armed and dangerous individual, following a search of the campus, Encampment K-12 School delayed the start of school by two hours.

At approximately 6:30 a.m., parents were notified using Carbon County School District No. 2’s ENotes system of the two-hour delay.

“Lieutenant Hobbs from Wyoming Highway Patrol advised us to be on the lookout for an individual that may be armed and dangerous in the Town of Encampment. Law enforcement is looking for an armed individual out of Colorado,” read the notice. “Therefore, Encampment School will have a 2 hour delay this Morning (August 26, 2021). No other Carbon 2 campus is affected.”

Despite the search of the campus and the presence of law enforcement, some Encampment parents opted to keep their children home. Rachel Swanson, director of the Encampment Preschool, not only kept her two grade school children home that day but cancelled both the morning and afternoon preschool classes.

“It wasn’t worth the risk to me,” said Swanson.

Other parents, meanwhile, sent their kids to school. Amanda Knotwell has children in both Valley schools. She informed the Saratoga Sun she allowed her son, who attends high school in Encampment, to go to school on Thursday. Knotwell admitted his age played a factor in the decision, as she likely would have kept her two youngest children, who are not old enough to attend school yet, home that day.

Byron Barkhurst also sent his sons—two in high school and one in middle school—to school that day. Bryon’s wife, Wendy, followed them to school as a matter of caution.

While school in Encampment went on as normally as possible, the search continued for Valdez. At approximately 12:30 p.m., according to Hobbs, the search of the area was suspended. Despite searches of multiple properties, with the cooperation of property owners, area residents had not seen the suspect nor had any connection to the suspect been found. At the time, it was believed Valdez had headed south towards Colorado.

Nearly five hours later, the pursuit resumed. Managing to remain undetected in the Encampment area, Valdez stole a Dodge Ram—after having some trouble stealing a vehicle with a standard transmission—and proceeded to take Highway 70 to the Little Snake River Valley. At approximately 5:30 p.m., an Encampment resident reported the stolen vehicle and the direction the suspect was heading.

Despite a long day of searching the area, both CCSO and WHP officers responded quickly to the call. Along with a WHP officer from Baggs, both state and county law enforcement responded from Elk Mountain as the pursuit of Valdez resumed. As he took Highway 70, the suspect reached speeds of up to 90 miles per hour. Descending into the Little Snake River Valley, Valdez sped through Savery and towards Dixon. It was around Dixon the first set of spikes had been laid out in an attempt to stop the suspect but he managed to avoid them. Another set of spikes was laid out near Baggs and a Tactical Vehicle Intervention was attempted but Valdez managed to avoid both. 

For reasons unknown to law enforcement, rather than head south into Colorado, the suspect headed north on Wyoming Highway 789 towards Rawlins. It was around Mile Marker 10 on Wyoming Highway 789 when another set of spikes was laid out. As Valdez attempted to avoid those, it allowed an officer with the WHP to successfully execute another Tactical Vehicle Intervention. 

After evading law enforcement for nearly a day, Valdez was apprehended at Mile Marker 8 on Wyoming Highway 789. Along with facing charges in Colorado, he is also facing charges in Wyoming related to his evasion of law enforcement including reckless driving, speeding in excess of 75 miles per hour, theft of $1,000 or more, and property damage.

Both Hobbs and Carbon County Sheriff Archie Roybal said they were pleased with the interagency cooperation during the pursuit of Valdez. Hobbs, also, was appreciative of the cooperation from Encampment and Riverside residents as law enforcement searched the area for Valdez.