How to Find a Missing Person in Colorado, Starting With the Right First Call

01The first hour

Report to Local Law Enforcement Before Anything Else

The fastest way to find a missing person in Colorado is to bring in the agency with authority to act. Call the police department where the person lives or was last seen, or the county sheriff outside city limits, and make a report. Do not wait for a set number of hours if you believe the person is at risk. Bring recent photographs, a physical description, phone numbers, vehicle details, medical needs and the names of friends or partners. Metro families can reach the investigator assigned through our Lakewood investigations page.

Colorado has a statewide clearinghouse. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation's Missing Persons Unit operates under C.R.S. § 24-33.5-415.1, a law added in 1985, and its own guidance is clear that local law enforcement must be notified before the unit can become involved. The unit can be reached at 303-239-4211 and is based at 690 Kipling St., Suite 4000, in Lakewood. Families searching for a relative can also read about our missing family member investigations.

A private investigator does not replace any of this. Police can enter a person into national databases, request phone carrier records with legal process and coordinate searches, none of which a private firm can do. What we add is time, persistence and lawful records work focused entirely on your case. Our Colorado investigations overview explains how Delator assigns that work statewide.

• Call the local police or sheriff first
• Bring photos, phone, vehicle and medical details
• CBI involvement follows a local report

02Statewide tools

Colorado's Missing Person Alerts and At-Risk Adults

The CBI runs Colorado's Missing Person Alert Program, which includes the AMBER Alert for abducted children, the Medina Alert, the Missing Indigenous Person Alert and other alert types. Alerts are issued through law enforcement when the criteria are met, so the family's role is to make sure the reporting agency has every fact that might qualify the case. Ask the officer directly whether an alert has been considered. Families in El Paso County can start with Colorado Springs investigations while that question is pending.

Older relatives and people with disabilities raise particular concerns. Colorado defines an at-risk adult as someone 70 or older, or 18 or older with a disability, and an at-risk elder as someone 70 or older. Adult protective services are run by county human services departments; Jefferson County, for example, staffs a 24-hour hotline at 303-271-4673. If a disappearance follows sudden financial changes, our elder scam investigations look at who may have influenced the person.

Care facilities have their own reporting channels. When a resident leaves a nursing home or assisted living facility unnoticed, families can file a complaint with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's health facilities division at 303-692-2442, in addition to the police report. We help families reconstruct what happened in retirement home abuse investigations, where staffing records and timelines often matter.

03What we add

How a Private Locate Search Works Alongside the Police Case

A private search starts with the information you already have and turns it into leads. That means address histories, court filings, property and vehicle records, utility and business connections, and a careful review of the person's public social media. The Colorado Open Records Act lets any person request public records, and agencies are presumed to respond within three working days. Each lead is checked before it is reported to you. For people who are not in danger but simply out of touch, our lost contact skip tracing is often enough.

Interviews are where many cases move. Friends, coworkers, landlords and neighbors often know something they did not think to tell police. A trained investigator asks the right follow-up questions, documents the answers and passes anything urgent to the detective on the case. Where a key acquaintance's own history matters, witness background research helps weigh what they say. When the trail leads to a specific place, an investigator can check it in person and confirm whether the person is there, without forcing contact.

We share what we learn with law enforcement when the family agrees and the information bears on safety. That coordination keeps the official case moving and avoids duplicated effort. When the person turns out to be an adult who chose to leave, we tell you plainly and discuss what can be done next. Records-based searches start at $102 through our Colorado skip tracing service.

• Address, court, property and vehicle records
• Public social media and open-source review
• Interviews with friends, employers and landlords
• In-person checks of likely locations

04Colorado realities

Mountains, Interstates and an Airport That Moves Millions

Colorado's landscape changes how searches unfold. The state has 54 peaks above 14,000 feet and huge areas of national forest and wilderness, and a person who went hiking or driving in the mountains is a matter for law enforcement and organized search teams, not a private investigator. If you suspect someone is lost outdoors, tell the sheriff where they planned to go and what they were driving. Our role in those cases is limited to records and interviews that might narrow the search.

Highways make it easy to leave quickly. I-25 runs the Front Range from New Mexico to Wyoming, and I-70 crosses the state from Utah to Kansas. Denver International Airport handled a record 82.4 million passengers in 2025, so a person who wants to disappear can be out of state within hours. That is why early records work on bank, phone and travel patterns, obtained lawfully, matters so much. Searches that cross borders use our out-of-state surveillance network.

Distance inside Colorado matters too. Western Slope and southwest counties are several hours' drive from Denver, and mountain passes close in winter. When a lead points to Grand Junction, Durango or a ski town, we quote the travel in writing before an investigator goes. Families with ties to the Four Corners can start with our Durango investigators.

05When adults leave

Adults Have the Right to Go, and Searches Must Respect It

An adult who chooses to leave is not necessarily missing in a legal sense. People move away from family conflict, debt or abusive relationships, and some do not want to be found. A responsible locate confirms that the person is safe and, if they agree, passes along a message. It does not hand over an address the person has deliberately kept private when there is reason to think contact would put them at risk.

Because of that, Delator screens every request. We ask why the client wants to find the person, how they are related and whether there is any protection order or history of violence. We decline searches that look like an attempt to track down someone fleeing abuse, and we will not help anyone do what Colorado's stalking statute prohibits. People who believe they are the ones being hunted can read about our stalking investigations.

Some searches end in hard news. Families sometimes learn that a loved one has died, been arrested or been hospitalized under another name. We deliver those findings carefully and in writing, and we can help families gather the facts afterward, including in drug overdose investigations where questions remain about what happened.

06Minors and parents

Missing Children, Runaways and Parental Removal

When a child is missing, call police at once. Officers decide whether an AMBER Alert or another alert applies, and every minute of delay matters. Private investigators should never be the first call for a missing child. Once a report is on file, Delator can help the family organize information, identify friends and online contacts, and support counsel. Our missing child investigations page describes that support role.

Teenage runaways are common and often found through friends, school contacts and social media. We work with parents to map the teen's network, check places they are likely to stay and pass anything significant to the detective. We do not physically take a teenager anywhere; returning a minor is a matter for parents, police and, where needed, the courts.

Parental removal is different again. In a Colorado divorce or allocation of parental responsibilities case, the automatic temporary injunction under C.R.S. § 14-10-107 generally bars either parent from removing the children from Colorado without the other's consent or a court order once it takes effect. If a parent has left with a child, your attorney and the police lead the response. Our Colorado parenting-time investigations guide explains how documentation supports the court.

07Scope and price

What a Colorado Locate Costs and How It Stays Lawful

Delator prices locate work in two tiers. A basic database skip trace is $102. When records do not produce a confirmed, current location, a field-work skip trace starts at $1,000, and hourly investigative time is $100. Every search begins with a written scope listing what we will check first, the hours authorized and any travel. The full list is on our Colorado service pricing page.

Lawful methods are not negotiable. We do not pose as police, call carriers or banks while pretending to be the missing person, or access email and social media accounts. We do not place trackers on vehicles the client has no right to. Those shortcuts can derail the official investigation and expose the family to liability. Our summary of Colorado investigator limits lists the boundaries.

Tribal land requires care. The Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe have reservations in southwest Colorado, and searches there may be governed by tribal law and tribal police. We confirm the approach with counsel and coordinate with the appropriate agencies before field work. When a missing person may be Native, ask the reporting agency about the Missing Indigenous Person Alert.

Services

Delator Group Services for Colorado Locate Cases

• Missing person skip tracingRecords-driven searches for adults and relatives, coordinated with the police report and checked in the field when a lead needs confirmation.Learn more
• Missing family membersSearches for parents, siblings and adult children who have lost contact, with careful handling of welfare checks and messages.Learn more
• Missing child supportHelp for families and counsel once a police report exists, organizing contacts, timelines and online leads for the detective assigned.Learn more
• Lost contact searchesLocating old friends, former colleagues and birth relatives through lawful records, usually without any field work needed at all.Learn more
• Evasive person searchesFinding people who are actively avoiding contact, such as defendants or witnesses, with attempts and observations documented for court.Learn more
• Hit-and-run locatesTracing drivers and vehicles after a collision, using lawful records, witness interviews and scene canvassing near the crash site.Learn more
• Elder scam investigationsLooking into who influenced an older relative before a disappearance or sudden financial change, with a $2,000 scam minimum.Learn more
• Debtor skip tracingLocating people who owe money or judgments in Colorado, from $102 database traces to field work when records go stale.Learn more
• Suicide and death inquiriesCareful, respectful fact-gathering for families with unanswered questions after a death, coordinated with investigators and the coroner's findings.Learn more

How it works

How a Colorado Missing Person Search Proceeds

1. 01

   Confirm the police report

   We make sure a report exists with the local agency, note the case number and agree how information will be shared with the assigned detective.

2. 02

   Build the profile

   We collect photos, identifiers, vehicles, phones, accounts, routines and contacts from the family, then list every lead in order of likely value.

3. 03

   Work the records and people

   Investigators run lawful records searches, review public social media and interview acquaintances, checking likely locations in person when a lead justifies travel.

4. 04

   Report and hand off

   Findings come to you in writing, with safety-relevant information passed to police, and any contact with an adult made only with their agreement.

Compare

Who Does What in a Colorado Missing Person Case

Statewide coverage

Locate Work Across Colorado's Cities and Counties

Missing person searches often start in one city and end in another. Front Range families can begin with our Westminster investigators or Broomfield casework, and southeast metro cases often run through investigators in Parker. Arapahoe County families can also see our Littleton private investigator page. Mountain, plains and Western Slope leads are covered from the same written scope, with travel quoted before an investigator goes, and with the local police case kept at the center of every step. Families outside the metro area receive the same written plan.

• Denver
• Lakewood
• Westminster
• Broomfield
• Parker
• Littleton
• All of Colorado

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Every service

Investigations available in Colorado

Every service below is available in Colorado and across Colorado, run by the same Delator Group leadership that manages our Tennessee casework. Choose a service to read how it works in Colorado.

Service areas

Private investigators across Colorado