Missing Colorado Woman’s Remains Found, But How She Died Is A Mystery

The unsolved death of a Colorado woman is weighing heavy on the minds of law enforcement and her family.

According to a press release from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, remains recovered in Clear Creek have been confirmed to belong to Melinda Tafoya-Deltoro (age 38), who went missing in early February 2022.

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Snowstorm Hits Colorado Highway

During the winter the weather in Colorado can be grizzly and unpredictable. Melinda Tafoya-Deltoro is believed to have been traveling along I-70 when a snowstorm hit. The inclement weather caused Tafoya-Deltora's vehicle to become stuck.

Tafoya-Deltoro placed a 911 call from the Miner’s Candle area around 4:30 PM that was received by the Clear Creek County 911 Center, alerting them that she may be in a dangerous situation.

Abandoned Vehicle Located

When authorities arrived on the scene, Tofoya-Deltora's vehicle was located, but no one was inside. Law enforcement searched the area and even paged the Alpine Rescue Team for assistance in locating the missing woman.

Tofoya-Deltora was unable to be located and after two days the Colorado Bureau of Investigation issued an Endangered Missing Person Alert.

Discovered Remains Lead to More Questions

Over the following months, teams continued to search the Miner’s Candle area and located human remains on June 4, 2022, which were turned over to the Clear Creek coroner's office. Now, approximately 2 months later, the remains have been identified as Tofoya-Deltora's.

According to a report from KDVR, Tofoya-Deltora was said to have sounded under duress during the call, but her family says law enforcement would not let them listen to their recording of that call. Her family also stated that she doesn't snowboard or ski, so they're unsure why she would've been in that area.

Could someone else have been there with Tofaya-Deltora during her last moments? Was she forced out of her vehicle by someone or something nefarious?

CBI states that the cause and manner of her death remain under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call 303-679-2354.