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BREAKING: Police make contact with 2nd subject, person of interest, after he fled authorities near Grand Lake; no longer a threat to public

Editor’s note: This story was written after our Tuesday print deadline so the story on Wednesday’s front page does not reflect these developments.

A multi-day search for a man considered a person of interest in a string of recent burglaries has ended Tuesday evening after authorities made contact with the man.

“The male subject that Grand County Sheriff’s Deputies were looking for on Friday has been contacted by law enforcement and is cooperating with authorities,” reads a statement from the Grand County Sheriff’s Office. The statement was issued shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday.

“This investigation is ongoing and we are not releasing any further information at this time. We appreciate the assistance from all members of the community and there is no related threat to the public at this time.”

The search for the male person of interest kicked off Friday afternoon after local deputies attempted to initiate contact with the subject and another male, later identified as Jorge Varela. Varela and the other male fled from authorities and a multi-agency manhunt for the pair kicked off in the Stillwater Pass area.

Varela was eventually found hiding in the crawlspace of a house near milepost 11 on Highway 40 that same afternoon but the search for the other man continued into the evening and throughout the day Saturday. Authorities eventually determined the man was able to elude officials after they discovered his tracks, which traveled through heavily forested areas before returning to County Road 4.

Stay with Sky-Hi News as we bring you the latest developments in this story as more information is released.


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