DENVER (KDVR) — A male suspect is still at large after a ranger was stabbed at Staunton State Park on Tuesday morning.
On Tuesday, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office reported it was searching for a suspect who fled the area after a seasonal Colorado Parks and Wildlife ranger was stabbed.
The suspect is described as a white man in his early 30s with brown hair and no facial hair. He is 6 feet tall, 200 pounds and was wearing a grey shirt with no printing on it and blue jeans. The sheriff’s office said on Tuesday that he is considered “dangerous,” but in an update on Wednesday morning, it said there was no threat to the public.
The stabbing took place at Staunton State Park, northwest of the Pine Junction Area. Colorado State Patrol, the Golden Police Department, the Arvada Police Department, the Lakeside Police Department, Airlife, the regional SWAT team, JeffCo Special Operations Response Teams and drone teams are helping out with the air and ground search.
The incident occurred on Tuesday morning around 9:30 a.m., when a park ranger called Jefferson County emergency dispatch and stated that he was in contact and had an altercation with somebody at Staunton State Park.
Dispatch had no response for an extended period after the initial contact with the ranger.
“We had radio silence for quite a while, which is difficult when you can’t get in touch with somebody who is actually calling for help,” said Jacki Kelley, the public information officer for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, during the press conference.
The ranger was able to call in again, indicating that he had been stabbed, and gave a description of the suspect who ran into the woods after the stabbing.
Emergency responders made it to the location of the park ranger, who was taken to an Elk fire station before being airlifted to a local hospital. Officials are not sure how many times he was stabbed, but they did report that he was stabbed in the torso. He had surgery and is in stable condition.
“He has been through surgery, and he is doing pretty well,” said Kelley. “These were serious injuries — he was attacked with a knife, and the suspect we are looking for is wanted for attempted murder, so this could not be more serious than it is.”
CPW closed that park on Tuesday and was evacuating all visitors inside the park. The park was reopened on Wednesday morning.
Kara Van Hoose, a spokesperson for CPW, said at the press conference that the ranger was a seasonal ranger and was not wearing any form of vest for protection, as seasonal rangers are not armed like full-time rangers and officers.
Agencies from over five jurisdictions, as well as SWAT teams, are searching for the suspect on the ground and by air with drones in the area around the woods.
The stabbing occurred on a trail near Staunton Rocks, Van Hoose said. The ranger was not called for assistance and was doing typical patrols of the park.
Law enforcement sent out a reverse 911 message to 8,600 homes nearby, and also sent an IPAWS alert, which contacts every phone within a certain parameter, even if they aren’t signed up for notifications with the agency.
At 4:50 p.m. on Tuesday, the shelter-in-place order for the area immediately around Staunton State Park was lifted, the sheriff’s office said in an update on X.
The two persons of interest were cleared and not involved in the stabbing, the sheriff’s office reported in an update on Tuesday afternoon. Investigators said they have reason to believe this was a targeted attack.
“We’re not going to give up until we find somebody,” said Kelley.
The sheriff’s office said in a Wednesday morning update that while some details of the case will remain confidential as it’s an active investigation, it said there is no ongoing threat to the public.
The sheriff’s office is asking anyone who sees something to call 911.
FOX31’s Heather Willard contributed to this report.