ASPEN, Colo. — A child at the center of an endangered missing person alert out of Aspen has been found safe, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
CBI issued an endangered missing person alert at 1:59 a.m. Friday for a 5-year-old boy. The alert was requested from the Aspen Police Department. The alert was deactivated around 8 a.m. Friday after the child was found safe, CBI said. The child's name has been removed from this story.
The case started around 11:33 p.m. on Thursday, when officers with the Aspen Police Department were alerted to an incident where a bus driver had found a severely injured woman. Police learned that her injuries were the result of domestic violence, and her husband had fled with the missing 5-year-old child.
The suspect was identified as 50-year-old Dagoberto Moreno-Romero. He had allegedly threatened to hurt the boy, according to CBI.
Moreno-Romero allegedly discarded the vehicle he had been driving in Snowmass — a silver Toyota — and stole another one, a maroon 2007 Chevy Trailblazer with a kayak on the top. Using license plate reader technology, officers were able to locate the suspect.
He was intercepted and apprehended in New Mexico around 6:40 a.m. Friday, according to the Aspen Police Department. The child was found safe and is in protective custody.
Dagoberto Moreno-Romero is being held without bond at the San Juan County Adult Detention Center in New Mexico on charges of first-degree assault, first-degree kidnapping and domestic violence.
"The Aspen Police Department remains steadfast in our commitment to safeguarding our community, and we are relieved to announce the safe recovery of the child involved," said Aspen Police Chief Kim Ferber. "I am tremendously proud of the concerted effort of our team at the Aspen Police Department, our partners in law enforcement, and vigilant community members like our local bus driver who played a crucial role in this incident."
No other details are available.
