CLEAR CREEK COUNTY, Colo. — In a public apology, the sheriff of Clear Creek County acknowledged that the department's initial response to a recent death investigation was "not acceptable," and shared that an internal investigation was underway.
The sheriff's office first posted about the death of Paul Peavey, 57, on Saturday, when it alerted the public that it was conducting a death investigation along the 1000 block of Two Brothers Road north of Idaho Springs. In the same post, the department noted that it received a report of a missing person — later confirmed to be Peavey — the previous Wednesday.
A privately organized search party discovered his body on Saturday.
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That evening, the Clear Creek Coroner's Office identified the deceased as Peavey and said his death is considered a homicide, though few other details about this are available. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is assisting with the investigation.
Peavey bred Dobermans and multiple puppies — as many as 10, all microchipped — were reported missing from his property. That remains part of the investigation and anybody with information about the dogs is asked to contact the sheriff's office at 303-679-2393 or admin@clearcreeksheriff.us.
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In a statement released Tuesday, Sheriff Matthew D. Harris apologized for the initial response to this case, which "failed to meet our professional standards," he said.
He briefly outlined the timeline of the case so far: The sheriff's office received a call on Wednesday, Aug. 21 from a person who believed Peavey was missing. Nobody had heard from him in more than 48 hours, the caller said.
"In response to that report, a deputy contacted the concerned citizen to gather more information, but the deputy did not respond to Mr. Peavey’s property," Harris' statement reads.
The following day the concerned person called again, and a different deputy opened a missing persons case.
"He entered Mr. Peavey as a missing person in state and national databases, responded to the property, interviewed several associates, and requested a welfare check in the Colorado county where Mr. Peavey was planning to move," Harris said. "He also requested a ping for Mr. Peavey’s cell phone location."
However, Harris said the sheriff's office should have searched Peavey's property more thoroughly, shared his information on social media and participated in the organized search on Saturday.
"When I was appointed as your Sheriff, I promised transparency, professionalism, accountability, and a review of our policies and practices to improve our calls for service," his statement reads. "I promised to communicate our successes but to also acknowledge and report our shortcomings. We have made many improvements and changes at all levels of the Sheriff’s Office, but we still have a lot of work to do. Unfortunately, during our initial assessment upon the report of a missing person last Wednesday, our response failed to meet our professional standards. In short, how we handled the initial call is not acceptable."
The sheriff's office will complete an internal investigation to "examine how and why we failed, and to help ensure our community receives the service it deserves from my office," he said.
In the conclusion of the statement, he offered an apology to the members of the search party who found Peavey's body, and condolences to his family and friends.