Family searches for missing Colorado Springs man, two people of interest found
Dec 30, 2024
On Monday morning, family and friends of a missing El Paso County man formed a search party to look for him near Constitution Avenue in the Cimarron Hills area.The El Paso County Sheriff's Office said 37-year-old Stephen Walker is missing under "suspicious circumstances" after a Dec. 19 incident at the sober living home where he resided on Pima Drive in unincorporated El Paso County. The sheriff's office said deputies were called to the home and found a large amount of blood throughout the residence.On Monday morning, law enforcement in Mississippi confirmed two persons of interest in the missing persons case were arrested by the Pearl River County Sheriff's Office. Deputies said 46-year-old Johnny Rankin Morris and 43-year-old Hailey Diane Cole are also persons of interest in a homicide investigation in Park County. The Park County Sheriff's Office said it responded to a check the welfare call on Christmas Eve and found a man dead in his home near Hartsel. Deputies said a vehicle found nearby was connected to the two persons of interest. The Park County Sheriff's Office said both Morris and Cole are in custody in Mississippi on local charges, including commercial burglary and possession of burglary tools.Although there are two persons of interest in the disappearance of Walker, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office said it has no updated information on his whereabouts. The lack of details prompted his family, friends, and strangers to search the area on their own.Judy Waggoner, Walker's mother, said she drove from Phoenix to help search. She said she's determined to find her son and is hopeful he's still alive."We will do this until there's nothing else to do. So I'm not moving. I've got nine people here. My son's got his people here. We're not going nowhere until we find Stephen," she said.Several volunteers with no ties to the family also showed up to help with the search. Brian Scott said he heard on the local news about the search party and wanted to show his support.Ive got kids and I cant imagine having to go through something like this. This is the least I could do," said Scott. "Im thinking about the mom. Im thinking about what shes going through."