Chaffee County Sheriff's Office

08/27/2026

On August 22nd, 2026, Chaffee County EMS, Chaffee County Search and Rescue and Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office Deputies responded to a hiker who had fallen down a revine by a waterfall in McCoy Gulch. The victim sustained a leg injury jury and was rescued by the team. The pictures depict Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Donnie Smith (the recipient of the 2026 Small Town Hero Award for Colorado) providing medical treatment for the patient and assisting her out of the gulch assisted by the rest of the team.

08/27/2026

On Wednesday August 26th, 2026, Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office Deputies responded to a single vehicle accident near the top of Monarch Pass. The 911 caller indicated that the car went over the edge and the vehicle is now on its top over the ledge. Deputies were there to assist State Patrol and to help with the extraction of the driver was was injured in the accident. A helicopter was brought in to assist; landing on the highway and flying the patient away to the hospital. A video of the helicopter leaving the scene is in the comments. No further details will be provided by our office as it is a State Patrol case.

08/26/2026

On August 18th of 2026 the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office, specifically Deputy Dylan Baker, was investigating a missing child report out of Missouri. The grandparents of the child had been granted emergency custody by the court because of child abuse allegations and the child was entered into the national crime computer as a missing child. The 13 year old child was believed to be in the custody of his mother who was not allowed to have contact with him.

Missouri authorities had pinged a cellphone believed to be in the possession of the mother and it appeared that it may be in the Chaffee County area. Deputy Baker alerted all local law enforcement about the investigation and provided them with a vehicle description of the vehicle the mother was believed to be driving.

Utilizing our local Flock cameras, Deputy Baker was able to confirm the vehicle was in Chaffee County and narrowed down its possible location. A short time later the vehicle was located in a business parking lot in Buena Vista by Buena Vista Police Chief Dean Morgan.

Deputy Baker responded to the business and took custody of the child who was located in the car. The grandparents later drove to Chaffee County from Missouri and were reunited with the child. The mother of the child was not taken into custody at that time but criminal charges may soon follow.

08/26/2026

We love our working dogs! We honor them on National Dog Day

08/26/2026

08/26/2026

On August 23rd, 2026, at about 8:30PM Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office Canine Deputy Ryland Geske and Canine Bossk made a speeding violation traffic stop on Highway 285 near Nathrop in Chaffee County. The driver of the vehicle was identified as Donald Engler, age 49, who was allegedly a construction worker in Buena Vista, CO.

It was quickly discovered that Engler was wanted out of Douglas County and he was taken into custody by Deputy Geske. Engler’s original charges from Douglas County included Special Offender Deadly Weapons and Controlled Substance (Class 1 Drug Felony), Possession of Controlled Substance With Distribution (Drug Felony 3), Possession of a Controlled Substance (Class 4 Drug Felony), Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (Drug Petty Offense), Criminal Possession of Financial Device ( Class 5 Felony), and Criminal Possession of ID Documents- Multiple Victims (Class 6 Felony). The date on the warrant was August 19th, 2026 and the bond amount was $50,000.00.

Found in Engler’s possession by Deputy Geske, Canine Bossk and other deputies assisting was approximately 20.5 grams of suspected methamphetamine, 5 suspected counterfeit $20.00 bills, multiple glass smoking pipes and several ma*****na containers. Engler’s driver’s license was also showing suspended for child support nonpayment.

Engler was transported to the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center where he was held on a $5,000.00 bond for the local charges of Possession of More than 4 Grams of Methamphetamine (Class 4 Drug Felony), Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument (Class 6 Felony), Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (Drug Petty Offense), Possession of an Open Ma*****na Container in a Motor Vehicle (Class A Traffic Infraction), Speeding 10-19 Miles Per Hour Over the Posted Speed Limit (Class A Traffic Infraction), and Driving a Motor Vehicle While License Suspended (Class A Traffic Infraction). Engler was also held on the $50,000.00 bond warrant for a total bond amount of $55,000.00.

Engler is presumed/ considered innocent unless/ until proven guilty in a court of law.

08/25/2026

The Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office along with local and federal firefighting agencies spent most of the day on Sunday (August 23rd, 2026) chasing smoke reports and confirmed fires in Chaffee County after lightning storms passed through days before.

The first confirmed fire was called in on Aspen Ridge (Southeast corner of the county). This fire was on Federal land and ultimately handed over to Federal Forest Service to extinguish.

The second confirmed fire called in was on private property near CR 220 in Maysville. That fire was quickly extinguished by Chaffee County Fire.

A third confirmed fire was on Methodist Mountain (range) near Sand Gulch above the Rainbow Trail. This fire, too, was on Federal land and turned over to the Federal Forest Service to extinguish.

The moisture in the fuels did not allow the fires to quickly travel and they mostly smoldered. Although it was scary to see fires in our county it was reassuring to see that recent fire data was accurate about the available fuels holding moisture which would slow fire behavior.

08/25/2026

Please make sure you inspect your your trash before dumping at the landfill. These four little kittens were found under the cushions of an old couch that was just about to be unloaded from a trash trailer at the Chaffee County Landfill. We are happy to report that they are safe, all healthy, and back in the care of their mother.

08/25/2026

On August 12th, 2026, Michael Guardino age 38 from Gypsum, CO, was sentenced in Chaffee County District Court concerning his involvement and arrest in a DUI and drug arrest by Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Justin Pikul back on April 27th, 2026.

On April 27th Deputy Pikul made a speeding violation traffic stop on Guardino near the intersection of Hwy 291 and Hwy 285 in Chaffee County. Guardino was taken into custody for suspicion of DUI and found in his possession was a handgun and 10.6 grams of co***ne. At that time Guardino was charged with possession of Co***ne (class 4 drug Felony), Driving Under the Influence of Drugs and/or alcohol (Class 1 Traffic Misdemeanor), Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (Drug Petty Offense), Possession of an Open Ma*****na Container in a Motor Vehicle (Class A Traffic Infraction), Displayed Expired License Plates (Class B Traffic Infraction), Prohibited Use of a Weapon (Class 1 Misdemeanor), and Speeding 10-19 Over the Posted Limit (Class A Traffic Infraction).

In the sentencing Guardino agreed to a plea agreement where he pled guilty to Driving While Ability Impaired (Misdemeanor) and received 12 months probation. A one year jail sentence was suspended. Guardino was ordered to monitored sobriety and he had to forfeit his handgun.

Sentencing outcomes are mandatorily driven by considerations of all factors in each case such as: criminal history or lack thereof, victim input and willingness to testify, community safety, litigation resources, investigations errors, prosecution errors, and defendant mental health and pre-existing trauma issues.

08/25/2026

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