TELLER COUNTY, Colo. – Excavation equipment was brought in by authorities to the home of Kelsey Berreth’s fiancé in Florissant, as they continued to search for the missing Woodland Park mother for a second straight day on Saturday.
The multi-jurisdictional task force is searching the 35-acre property of Patrick Frazee, who has not been ruled out as a suspect in Berreth’s disappearance.
Details about what the search would cover on Saturday were not released, but photos obtained by Denver7 from one of Frazee's neighbors showed a backhoe being escorted in by authorities. In a press release Saturday, Woodland Police Chief Miles J. De Young stressed the case “is the number one priority for the Woodland Park Police Department.”
De Young said the couple’s 1-year-old daughter remains with her father, who is continuing to cooperate with law enforcement during the investigation.
He also said his department has been in contact with the Teller County Department of Human Services in regard to the child’s custody, adding that department “does not have evidence that [the child’s] safety is at risk while in Patrick Frazee’s custody.”
During a press conference Friday, De Young said there were “a number of other things” done up through Thursday night that led to a judge signing off on a search warrant of Frazee’s home.
Berreth, 29, has not been seen since Thanksgiving . She was spotted on surveillance video at a Safeway in Woodland Park that day. Her cell phone pinged about 800 miles away in Idaho on Nov. 25.
Her brother told Good Morning America that she did not seem to have packed to take any trips.
De Young said Friday afternoon that it was investigators' "hope" that Berreth was still alive and said that was "absolutely a possibility."
Berreth is described as a white female standing 5 feet, 3 inches tall and weighing 110 pounds. She has brown hair and green eyes.
De Young said late Saturday afternoon that the police department had received an anonymous donation that would pay $25,000 to anyone with information that leads to Berreth's location or safe return. A donation fund has been set up in Berreth's name at Wells Fargo bank branches.
Anybody with information on her disappearance is encouraged to contact the Woodland Park Police Department at 719-687-9262 or email Kelsey@city-woodlandpark.org.
