Police say Kelsey Berreth’s remains were not found in landfill
Police will no longer search for Kelsey Berreth’s remains at a Colorado landfill that had been the focus of their investigation for nearly two months.
The Woodland Park Police Department announced its decision Wednesday, saying that officers did not find Berreth’s remains or any evidence linked to her death at the Midway Landfill in Fountain, Colorado.
Police Chief Miles De Young said he doesn’t believe “it is prudent to continue” due to the lack of evidence.
“This is not the outcome that we hoped for, but we knew going into this search that there was a chance we would not locate Kelsey or evidence related to her disappearance,” De Young said in a statement.
Berreth vanished on November 22 from where she lived near Woodland Park, a city between Denver and Colorado Springs. Her mother reported her missing 10 days later.
Patrick Frazee, her fiance and the father of her daughter, is accused of murdering her and tampering with her body. He is expected to be arraigned on May 24.
Searchers had been sifting through the landfill’s detritus since February 25, about three months after Berreth was last seen alive. Police had focused the search on a section of the landfill about a quarter-acre in size and expected any evidence to be buried roughly 15 feet down.
Krystal Lee Kenney, who said she had been in a romantic relationship with Frazee last year, cooperated with law enforcement and shared information that helped lead investigators to the landfill.
Kenney told investigators that Frazee tried to enlist her to dispose of Berreth’s body in Idaho, but she refused, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
She told police that after beating his fiancee, Frazee burned her body in a water trough before disposing of it either at a dump or in a river.
Authorities’ investigation into Berreth’s case is still ongoing. Police urged anyone with information about the case to email them at kelsey@city-woodlandpark.org.
CNN’s Emanuella Grinberg contributed to this report.