CLEAR CREEK COUNTY, Colo. — After a community-organized search party found the body of an Idaho Springs man who had previously been reported missing, the Clear Creek County sheriff is now saying the assessment of the initial missing person's report was "not acceptable."
On Saturday, three days after 57-year-old Paul Peavey was reported missing, a group of community members found his body within minutes of starting a search for him.
In a post to an Idaho Springs Facebook group Tuesday, Sheriff Matthew Harris acknowledged they received a missing person's report on Wednesday evening, but a deputy never went to the property that night.
"We didn't go, and it was not the right decision," Harris said in an interview with 9NEWS.
Bruce Boynton, the search party organizer and a close friend of Peavey's, said they shouldn't have been the ones to find Peavey's body, and that authorities should have acted sooner.
Harris said he agrees.
"It's one of the things that weighs heavy on my heart is that that these folks had to go, and they had to see that," Harris said. "And we should have been there, side by side, assisting on that."
In the statement, Harris said a missing persons case was opened for Peavey only after the caller who reported his disappearance on Wednesday called again the following day.
He added that, although a deputy did make efforts to find Peavey on Thursday — including searching his property and entering his name into national missing persons databases — the sheriff's office could have done additional things, like sharing his information on social media and partaking in Saturday's search party, which was made up of more than 40 community members.
Over the weekend, Harris defended their decision, saying their office didn't receive any information that Peavey was endangered. But now, Harris is saying their assessment of the initial report about Peavey's disappearance did not meet professional standards and was not acceptable.
"The reporting party did report significant information that should have led us to respond on scene to that call," Harris said. "It was a misstep on our part, certainly."
In the statement, he said they are now conducting an internal investigation into their response.
Separately, he also noted that his office was already in the process of rolling out a new policy and procedures manual that requires deputies to write a report and respond to a missing person's call. Their old policy, which Harris said is "out of date," does not require this. The new policy and procedures will be rolled out over the next few months.
Regardless, Harris said, "A reasonable person should have responded to that call, regardless of what the policy and procedure manual said."
Peavey's death is being investigated as a homicide. Harris said they have several strong leads on suspects in this case. But they are still trying to track down Peavey's missing Doberman puppies, which could help the investigation. Anyone who has bought a Doberman puppy recently is being asked to check for a microchip and contact the sheriff's office.
Anyone with information is asked to call 303-679-2393, email crime_tips@clearcreeksheriff.us or submit a tip anonymously through their website.
Read Harris' full statement below:
From Sheriff Matthew D. Harris:
I would like to address the Clear Creek Sheriff’s Office's (CCSO) initial response regarding Paul Peavey’s death investigation.
Last Wednesday evening, we received a call from a concerned citizen indicating that Mr. Peavey was missing and had not been heard from in over 48 hours. 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. On Thursday, the concerned citizen called again and another deputy initiated a missing persons case for Mr. Peavey at that time. That deputy entered Mr. Peavey as a missing person in state and national databases, responded to the property, interviewed several of Mr. Peavey's associates, and requested a welfare check in the Colorado county where Mr. Peavey was planning to move. He also requested a ping for Mr. Peavey’s cell phone location. However, there were additional steps our agency should have taken based on the information we had. These steps include a more thorough search of Mr. Peavey’s property, sharing his information on our social media sites, and participating in the organized search for Mr. Peavey 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. 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. Therefore, we will conduct an internal investigation to examine how and why we failed, and to help ensure our community receives the service it deserves from my office. You deserve a Sheriff’s Office that reflects the values in our county, and we will continue to work diligently to improve and better serve you.
I want to thank our community members who mobilized the search team for Mr. Peavey, and I sincerely apologize to those who had the unfortunate experience of finding Mr. Peavey. I offer my condolences to Mr. Peavey’s family and his friends during their time of grief.