Dec 04, 2025
WELD COUNTY, Colo. A missing 20-year-old woman at the center of a massive search in northern Colorado has been found deceased, her loved ones confirmed.Kaylee Russell, 20, "has been found and unfortunately, she did not survive, " a verified GoFundMe reads. The circumstances around her death have not yet been confirmed. On Tuesday afternoon, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) issued an endangered missing alert for the 20-year-old.According to that alert, they said Russell, who lived in Evans, was last seen around 6 p.m. on Sunday near the Loveland/Johnstown Park-N-Ride parking lot. This is near Highway 402 and Interstate 25.CBI said that day that investigators were concerned for her safety.Amid the investigation into Russell's disappearance, first responders headed to an area near the Timnath Reservoir, which is about 15 miles north of the park-n-ride parking lot where she was last seen. This was the second water search of the day.Scripps News Denver's news helicopter flew over an upside-down car in a waterway, which appeared to be an irrigation ditch, north of the reservoir and along S. County Line Road. Crews were seen righting the car in the water and bringing a tow truck to the shoreline. Scripps News Denver has not yet confirmed that Russell had died in this crash, however the vehicle in the water appeared to match a description of her car provided by CBI earlier in the week.When Scripps News Denver's Veronica Acosta arrived at the scene around 3:30 p.m., she was told that Colorado State Patrol was now leading the investigation. The first water search of the day occurred a few hours prior.Earlier in the morning, Scripps News Denver received a tip about a possible car in a body of water near the Johnstown Ready Mix Plant, which is around the area where Russell disappeared.However, the Weld County Sheriff's Office later wrote on social media that "after dive and drone teams conducted a thorough search, no vehicle was found." Scripps News Denver's Acosta, who also went to this initial scene, spoke with a couple of Russell's family friends who showed up at the plant. Both had been involved in search parties since the woman disappeared.Faith Campbell told Scripps News Denver that Russell had a flat tire, called her dad for help and he came out to replace it and then was helping her finish delivering packages.She then brought him back to his pickup, and he explained a route for her to follow. Investigators previously said that drop-off happened at the Park-n-Ride, and that she was headed to a friend's house afterward, but never showed up.That was the last time anybody spoke to her, Campbell said."We just don't have any answers," added Anne Bauer, another family friend, Thursday morning. "We don't have any leads. She is just gone, and we can't find anything. And so we're just hoping to get everybody out here, anybody that has resources to help us look. We just want to find her. We want some answers."Both women described Russell as a sweet, family-oriented and social woman who would not randomly go off the radar.Campbell said Russell's brother had passed away a couple years ago and she said it was "heartbreaking" to see Russell's mother navigate another tragedy._______Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching. ...read more read less
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