DENVER – Authorities in southern Colorado said Wednesday that they are searching for a suspect in connection with the discovery of the remains of three people near a rural hamlet.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation and local police agencies identified the suspect as Adre Jordan Baroz, a convicted felon. They said a homicide warrant has been issued for his arrest and that he goes by the nickname “Psycho.”
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Searches last week uncovered the skeletal remains of three people on two properties near Las Sauces, a tiny community outside the small city of Alamosa, more than 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of Denver, Conejos County Sheriff Garth Crowther said. None of the remains have been identified.
Authorities declined to comment on how Baroz, 26, may be connected to the discovery of the remains. They said he is commonly known as “Psycho” in the area but did not elaborate.
Alamosa Police Chief Ken Anderson told reporters that authorities consider Baroz armed and dangerous and that any sightings should be reported to police.
Authorities from at least four sheriff's offices, police departments in Colorado's San Luis Valley agricultural region and state investigators have formed a task force to investigate.
“The San Luis Valley is very small. It’s a tight-knit community,” Anderson said. “Most of us have grown up here. ... We’re just trying to keep the community safe right now.”
It was not known if any of the remains are linked to any missing-persons cases in the region, which borders New Mexico, said George Dingfelder, police chief of the small community of Monte Vista.
Dingfelder said authorities got a search warrant for a property near Las Sauces, found human remains there and then found more on a nearby property.
Identification could take weeks, if not months, and it isn't known whether the remains are male, female, what age they may be or how long they were at the properties, Dingfelder said.
Authorities are still searching the second property “to ensure all remains and all evidence is found,” Crowther said.
Baroz is from the tiny town of Sanford, near Las Sauces, Anderson said. He has a criminal history in Colorado that includes assault on a peace officer, attempted escape and theft, according to state court records. Baroz also has open criminal cases against him that include several drug charges, possession of a weapon by a felon and assault.
“Our priority is to get him into custody and identify the remains,” said John Camper, deputy director of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
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Associated Press writer Thomas Peipert in Denver contributed to this report.
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This story has been corrected to show Conejos County Sheriff Garth Crowther's name was misspelled on a subsequent reference.