Investigators dig at new site in Pueblo for clues in Kelsie Schelling’s disappearance

PUEBLO, Colo. – Investigators continued their search for evidence related to the disappearance of Kelsie Schelling Monday in the Pueblo area, when they used several backhoes to dig in an area close to where Schelling’s ex-boyfriend used to live.

Monday’s search came less than two weeks after investigators with the Pueblo Police Department and Colorado Bureau of Investigation dug up the backyard of a Pueblo home where Schelling’s ex-boyfriend, Donthe Lucas, used to live with his grandmother.

Detectives said they recovered evidence in that search, but have not specified exactly what. Monday’s search appeared to focus on a low-lying cropping of trees in an area about a mile west of the home investigators searched two weeks ago.

A Pueblo police spokesperson told Denver7 crews started digging at 8 a.m. and will work throughout the day, and possibly into Tuesday.

The police spokesperson said close to 12 people were working at the site Monday, and that police had received permission to search the land from its owner and developer.

Police have so far on Monday not said if they have found anything new in their latest search, and did not say what led crews to that area Monday.

Lucas has long been a person of interest in Schelling’s February 2013 disappearance. Schelling, 21, was eight weeks pregnant when she disappeared, and Lucas was the father of the child.

Schelling vanished on Feb. 4, 2013. She had her first doctor’s visit and had seen a sonogram of her baby earlier that day.

After the trip to the doctor and a shift at work, the Denver woman drove two hours south to Pueblo to meet up with Lucas, and has never been seen since.

Lucas was found to have parked her car at an area Walmart the day after she disappeared, and an unidentified man picked it up and eventually dropped it off again at the St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center. Police recovered the vehicle Feb. 7.

Schelling was never seen in surveillance video at either location.

Investigators discovered through text messages that Schelling and Lucas had talked to one another once she had reached Pueblo, but the messages stopped shortly after she got there.

Schelling’s mother, Laura Saxton, told Denver7 in an exclusive interview after the search two weeks ago that she was encouraged by the new leads and that evidence had been found.

Schelling’s family continues to offer a $50,000 reward for information leading investigators to their daughter or to the arrest and conviction or someone in her disappearance.

Pueblo police say the investigation into the case remains ongoing and that they are looking for tips related to the case. To submit anonymous tips in the case, contact Pueblo Crime Stoppers at 542-STOP or go to their website. You can also contact the Colorado Bureau of Investigation at 303-239-4300.