Family Relieved, Sad After News Of Miller's Body

FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- The family of a missing 20-year-old woman expressed relief and sorrow at news that investigators may have found her body in the foothills about 30 miles from Fort Collins.

Lacy Miller's family and police waited for the results of an autopsy while the 22-year-old man suspected of kidnapping and killing her appeared in court.

Police believe Jason Peder Clausen of Fort Collins may have posed as a police officer to pull over Miller, who disappeared Jan. 18 after driving a friend home.

Investigators said a body was found Sunday in the remote area near Highway 14 and County Road 27 near Stove Prairie in the Cache La Poudre Canyon northwest of Fort Collins.

"We identified an area late in the afternoon (Saturday) that we wanted to further investigate," said Fort Collins polce spokeswoman Rita Davis. "We secured the scene for the evening. We started out at 7:30 a.m. (Sunday morning) working the area. At 12 p.m. today we confirmed we found a body. And it's the body of the person we believe to be Lacy Miller."

Davis said an autopsy scheduled Monday was expected to confirm the identity and help determine the cause of death.

Because of a gag order in the case, police would not say what led them to the canyon or why they believed Miller was dead before a body was found.

Clausen, arrested Jan. 22, was due in court Monday to be formally charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder.

Miller's mother, Wendy Cohen, said she learned the body found in the canyon might be her daughter's while watching the news Sunday.

"It's lifted a huge weight, but it also makes it more real," Cohen said. "I feel like I am in a dream, a bad dream. Everybody's in it, and I'm not waking up. It's really a double-edged sword."

Miller, a University of Northern Colorado sophomore, was reported missing after her family found her locked Mitsubishi Mirage parked two doors from their home. Her parents became suspicious because she only parked on the driveway or in the garage.

Police at first said that there no signs of foul play and were investigating her disappearance as a missing person's case.

After thousands of flyers with Miller's pictures were posted in Fort Collins and Greeley, police received a tip that led them to Clausen.

Clausen is a former security guard and Fort Collins Police Explorer Scout. They are investigating the possibility that he posed as a police officer to stop Miller's car.

Records confirm that Clausen had law-enforcement training and tools, including at least four guns, handcuffs and a red-and-blue flashing police light installed on the dashboard of his white Ford Expedition.

He also owned a fake police badge, according to records.