BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. – Boulder Valley School District Superintendent Dr. Bruce Messinger has been placed on paid administrative leave by the district’s school board amid an ongoing investigation.

An email sent to Boulder Valley School District staff by its school board Wednesday morning said that Messinger was put on leave “pending the outcome of an investigation of a personnel matter.” It said it expected the investigation into Messinger would take around 30 days.

“Please keep in mind that the leave is being made to help facilitate the integrity of our investigation,” the email said. “It does not indicate any determination of misconduct upon the employee involved.”

Messinger confirmed the investigation to Denver7 and that he was put on leave. He said he couldn’t talk about the nature of the investigation, citing its confidentiality.

But he said he hoped for a “speedy” investigation and that he was cooperating fully, adding that he is “confident he will return to work.”

The school board says it has reached a deal with former district Assistant Superintendent for Operations Joe Sleeper to act as interim superintendent during the investigation and for “as long as may be necessary,” according to the email.

“Each of us on the board appreciates that this news may be unsettling,” the board’s email to staff says. “However, we are confident that you will continue to make the well being [sic] and learning of all students your first priority as you have always done.”

Messinger took over as superintendent of the district on July 1, 2011 after 14 years as superintendent of the school district in Helena, Montana. Prior to that, he worked in Weld County School District 6 for 11 years.

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. – Law enforcement authorities are looking for two more men wanted in connection with the murder of two teenagers found dead south of Fountain March 12.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office says it is looking for Carlos Daniel Meza, who also goes by “Tink,” on weapons charges in relation to the murders of Derek Greer, 15, and Natalie Partida, 16, both of Colorado Springs.

It said later Tuesday that it was also looking for 17-year-old Endo Velarde, also known as “Sleepy,” on felony charges relating to the two teens’ murders.

Velarde is a Hispanic man described as 5-foot-8 and 135 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.

Gustavo Antonio Marquez, 19, was arrested March 19 and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping, two counts of aggravated robbery and one count of child abuse resulting in death in the case.

And last Saturday, the sheriff’s office arrested four others on various charges relating to the teens’ deaths, including murder, kidnapping, robbery and child abuse. On Tuesday, another man was arrested in connection to the murder, bringing the total number of arrests so far to six, with Velarde and Meza still outstanding.

The sheriff’s office says Meza and Velarde are both known previous offenders and that anyone who sees them should call 911 and not approach either.

Meza is described as a Hispanic man who is 5-foot-9 and approximately 140 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes.

ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. – The attack on a high school girl running along the High Line Canal Trail Monday night is being investigated as an assault and unlawful sexual contact, and authorities have released a description of the suspect.

The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office released new details about the attack on Tuesday, a day after it happened.

The sheriff’s office says the girl was tackled on the trail near the 1600 block of S. Quebec Way. When she was tackled, she and her attacker rolled down an embankment into the canal below.

The girl was able to fight the man off by kicking him and screaming, the sheriff’s office says, but the man fled south in the canal bed.

Authorities say the girl suffered “serious bodily injury” in the attack.

“She was bruised pretty good. She had a little blood on her shirt, she had red marks on her arms where she was grabbed,” said Michael Blackmon who lives nearby and helped the teen call police.

Blackmon said he and his wife, Stephanie, were at home watching television when they heard a frantic knock at their front door.

“Immediately me and my wife tried to console her but she was pretty shook up,” said Blackmon.

The Blackmons helped her call 911 and get in touch with her parents. They said they were shocked when the young girl told them she had been tackled from behind while jogging on the trail.

“She hit the ground and they started rolling and she kicked him a couple of times and then he started hitting her in her head,” said Blackmon.

“We were just glad we were here,” said Stephanie.

“There’s a predator out there and he needs to be stopped,” said Blackmon.

The suspect is described as a white man with a medium build and no facial hair. He is estimated as being 5-foot-10 or 6-feet tall, and was wearing a dark sweatshirt and black beanie during the attack. The sheriff’s office says the girl estimated the man was in his 20s.

The sheriff’s office says both it and DPD have reviewed prior calls and found there have been no other similar attacks in the area recently.

But it advises people to be aware of other loitering on the trail, not to run alone, and to carry a phone if possible when using the trail or running at night.

The sheriff’s office asks anyone with more information on the assault to call them at 303-795-4711.

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. – Just hours after the sheriff’s office said it was seeking another suspect in the murder of two Colorado Springs teens, it announced it had arrested a sixth suspect in relation to the case.

Alander Jordon Wilson, 43, was arrested Tuesday and charged with attempting to influence a public official in relation to the murder cases of Natalie Partida, 16, and Derek Greer, 15, who were found dead south of Fountain on March 12.

It’s unclear exactly what Wilson did to warrant the charge, as the cases are still sealed.

Hours earlier, the sheriff’s office had said it was seeking another suspect in the case: Carlos Daniel Meza, aka “Tink,” is wanted on weapons charges in the case. He has yet to be arrested.

Wilson’s arrest was the sixth in the case. Gustavo Antonio Marquez, 19, was arrested March 19 and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping, two counts of aggravated robbery and one count of child abuse resulting in death

And last Saturday, the sheriff’s office arrested four others on various charges relating to the teens’ deaths, including murder, kidnapping, robbery and child abuse.

Meza remains at large. The sheriff’s office advises anyone who sees him not to approach him and to instead call 911.

DENVER – Charges have been filed in a 1977 murder case out of Denver in what is the oldest ever prosecuted by the Denver District Attorney’s Office Cold Case Unit.

Benito Soto, 84, faces one count of first-degree murder in the June 1977 shooting death of Armanda Garcia at the Denampa Bar on Larimer Street in Denver.

The Denver District Attorney’s Office says that Soto was identified as Garcia’s alleged killer shortly after the murder, but Soto had already left Denver. A judge issued a warrant for his arrest, but the case went cold because no one could find him.

The DA’s Office says that the Denver Police Department’s Fugitive Unit found Soto living in Texas and re-opened the case.

After interviewing witnesses in the case and Soto himself, a warrant to get Soto from Texas was obtained, and he was arrested and brought back to Denver this month.

The DA’s Office says the case, at nearly 40 years old, is the oldest cold case prosecuted by its cold case unit.

Soto was first advised in court on his charges on March 14 and is next scheduled for a preliminary hearing on April 21.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Deputies in El Paso County have arrested a 19-year-old man for the alleged murder of two Colorado Springs teenagers found dead south of Fountain last week.

Gustavo Antonio Marquez, 19, faces two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping, two counts of aggravated robbery and one count of child abuse resulting in death stemming from the deaths of Derek Benjamin Greer, 15, and Natalie Partida, 16.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office says it booked Marquez “in the late evening” on Sunday.

The two teens, whose deaths were ruled homicides, were found dead around 8:45 a.m. on March 12 along the side of Old Pueblo Road, about three-quarters of a mile south of Hanover Road. The Pikes Peak International Raceway is just across I-25 from where the bodies were found.

El Paso County jail records show Marquez is being held without bond on the charges. He appeared in court Monday afternoon for an advisement status hearing.

State court records show Marquez was also arrested Feb. 24 by the Fountain Police Department on two felony and two misdemeanors charges. He was charged with second-degree kidnapping, second-degree assault with attempted serious bodily injury, third-degree assault, and child abuse.

Records show Marquez posted a $5,000 bond in that case on Feb. 27. He appeared in court on March 8 in that case. A spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office said she had “not been made aware of any connection” between the two cases.

Court records also show that Marquez has had restraining orders filed against him in the past, though neither involved the teens who were killed.

The sheriff’s office still has not said how the two teens were killed. A spokeswoman says Marquez’s affidavit is sealed.

The investigation into the teens’ deaths is ongoing. Anyone with information on the murders is asked to call the sheriff’s office’s tip line at 719-520-6666 or 719-520-7777.

DENVER – Staff at Denver’s Central Library is receiving training on how to administer Narcan after six people overdosed at the library since Jan. 1.

The Denver Public Library says it ordered 12 Narcan kits in February, which it received on Feb. 28. It says it used one of the kits to treat an overdose that very day.

“It’s a frightening thing,” said Rachel Fewell, central library administrator for the Denver Public Library. “And it can be scary. But, I’m feeling less scared now that we have a tool that can help keep people alive.”

The library this week received another shipment of 36 kits.

“We see customers in here experiencing all kinds of things,” Fewell said. “We started to notice that we had customers who needed some help.”

The library says that two community resource specialists, a peer navigator and 13 security officers have received training for administering Narcan.

“It was a really quick turn around. We kind of made the decision maybe in early February that yes, we really want to do this,” Fewell said. “It’s a nasal spray. It’s not a scary injectable.”

In simplest terms – Narcan immediately blocks an overdosing person’s brain receptors from receiving opioids.

Each kit costs $75.

The library says the instances in which security officers administered the Narcan resulted in the patient stabilizing and either being released on their own recognizance or being transported to a hospital.

Narcan is a nasal spray used to reverse the effects of an overdose from opioids, including heroin and fentanyl.

The library says it first started tracking overdoses when it first received the Narcan shipments.

A recent report shows that 197 people died across Colorado last year from heroin overdoses, including 31 in Denver. The statewide total is up 756 percent since 2001, and Denver’s overdose numbers are up 933 percent since 2002, when only three heroin overdoses were recorded.