Missing Person Search in Colorado

01The first step

Police First, Then a Wider Missing Person Search in Colorado

If you believe an adult is missing, contact the local police department or county sheriff before anyone else, and call 911 if the person may be in danger. There is no reason to wait a set number of hours. The report puts the person into law enforcement databases and opens the door to state resources. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation states that local law enforcement must be notified before its Missing Persons Unit can become involved. A private search never replaces that report; it fills gaps the agency may not have time to cover. Our Colorado investigators start only once the report exists.

While the report is being made, write down what you know: the person's full name and date of birth, recent photos, phone and carrier, vehicle and plate, bank and card accounts, social media handles, medical needs and medications, and the last confirmed sighting with time and place. Note who they were with and what changed recently. These details shape everything that follows. If the person may be a witness or party in a legal matter, tell us so counsel can be involved, as described on our attorney services page.

• Full name, date of birth and recent photos
• Phone, carrier, vehicle and plate
• Medical needs and medications
• Last confirmed sighting, time and place

02State resources

What the CBI Missing Persons Unit Does

The CBI's Missing Persons Unit serves as Colorado's clearinghouse under C.R.S. § 24-33.5-415.1, a law first added in 1985. According to the Bureau, it supports local agencies through state and national crime information systems, investigates leads on missing and unidentified persons and forwards them to the reporting agency, distributes posters and bulletins, obtains dental records for people missing 30 days or more and offers victim advocate support to families. It is reachable at 303-239-4211 and is based in Lakewood. Our Lakewood investigators are close to that office when coordination helps.

The Bureau also runs Colorado's alert programs, which include the AMBER Alert, the Senior Alert, the Developmental Disabilities Alert, the Missing Indigenous Person Alert, the Medina Alert and a media alert for endangered missing people. Alerts are requested by the investigating law enforcement agency, not by families or private investigators. If you think an alert should be issued, raise it with the officer handling the case. We can help organize photos, descriptions and timelines so the agency has what it needs, and an early consulting session helps families prepare.

03Records research

Addresses, Vehicles, Money Trails and Court Records

Most missing adults leave records. Address histories, utility connections, vehicle registrations, court filings, new employment and social media activity can show where someone went and when. We search lawful, permissible-purpose databases and public records, including Colorado court records and county property and recorder indexes. The Colorado Open Records Act lets any person, including out-of-state requesters, inspect many public records, with a presumed response time of three working days. Criminal history through the CBI's internet check covers Colorado records only. Our records-based locate team runs this research as a routine part of every search.

Phone and financial records are powerful but restricted. Carriers and banks generally will not release account activity to families or investigators; law enforcement can obtain it through legal process, and an attorney may be able to subpoena records in a related case. What families can often do is review shared accounts they already have lawful access to and tell police what they see. We never pose as someone else to obtain records, an approach our guide to what investigators can legally do explains in more detail.

04Field work

Hospitals, Shelters, Jails, Transit and the Coroner

Some of the most productive work is unglamorous. We contact hospitals, behavioral health facilities, homeless shelters, day centers and detention facilities in the areas the person frequented, within each institution's privacy limits. Hospitals may not confirm a patient without consent, but they may pass a message. Jail rosters and court calendars are often public, a routine check also used by our criminal defense investigations team. Coroners and medical examiners can be asked, with care, whether an unidentified person matches the description. Denver metro checks are handled by our Denver investigators, who know the shelter and transit network.

Travel adds complexity. Denver International Airport handled more than 82 million passengers in 2025, and bus and rail connections run along the I-25 and I-70 corridors, so someone can leave the state quickly. We canvass places the person was known to go, speak with friends, coworkers and neighbors and distribute flyers where the family wants that. Any sighting is reported to the investigating agency right away. If the person is found and safe, we confirm it respectfully, and our lost contact methods help when they simply moved without telling anyone.

05Vulnerable adults

Missing Seniors and Adults With Disabilities

Adults with dementia, cognitive disabilities or serious medical conditions face real danger when missing, especially in winter. Colorado law treats people 70 or older as at-risk elders for abuse and exploitation purposes, and the CBI runs Senior and Developmental Disabilities alerts for qualifying cases. Families should tell police about any diagnosis, medication or wandering history immediately. Our role is to support the official search with checks of transit, hospitals and places the person used to visit, while police direct any ground search; lawful observation by our Colorado surveillance team is used only where it helps.

Sometimes a disappearance follows exploitation: a new friend or relative who took control of money, a sudden move or a romance scheme. Mandatory reporters in Colorado must report suspected mistreatment of an at-risk elder to law enforcement within 24 hours, and county adult protective services can be contacted as well. When financial abuse appears to be part of the picture, our elder scam investigations document the money trail, and facility concerns are handled through our retirement home abuse team.

06Colorado terrain

Backcountry, Mountain Highways and Long Distances

Colorado has 54 peaks above 14,000 feet, large national forests and wilderness areas and mountain highways that close in winter storms. When someone may be lost outdoors, the county sheriff generally coordinates search and rescue, and private investigators should not enter the field search. What we can do is help the family assemble trip plans, trailhead information, vehicle details and phone data the family can lawfully share, and pass it to the agency quickly. Chain and traction law conditions on I-70 from September through May can also delay travel, which we factor into planning.

Distance matters for field work. Western Slope and southwest counties are several hours' drive from Denver, so we assign investigators through our Grand Junction and southwest Colorado coverage rather than sending everyone from the metro. Searches touching Southern Ute or Ute Mountain Ute lands may involve tribal authorities, and families should report to tribal police where the person was last seen on reservation land; jurisdiction depends on the facts and should be confirmed. Where a vehicle is involved, our stolen car investigations methods help trace it.

07Limits and cost

Respecting Adults Who Chose to Leave, and What This Costs

An adult may lawfully leave without telling family where they went. If we find a missing adult who is safe and does not want contact, we tell the family the person is safe and, where appropriate, pass on a message, but we do not disclose the location without the person's consent unless counsel and the law require otherwise. People fleeing abuse are sometimes reported missing by the person they fled. We screen for that risk and will decline work that could endanger someone. Location privacy concerns also inform our personal information OSINT wipe service for people protecting themselves.

Remote records research on one person costs $102. Field searches are billed at $100 per hour with a $1,000 minimum for field-work skip traces, and travel to distant counties is quoted in writing first. The family approves the written scope and total before anything starts. Colorado does not currently license private investigators at the state level, so families should vet any firm carefully; Delator is a licensed Tennessee firm and holds to Tennessee's standard here. Our guide to finding a missing person in Colorado and pricing page give more detail.

Services

Missing person search services in Colorado

• Intake and case fileFamily interviews organized into a usable case file with photos, identifiers, timelines and contacts that both investigators and the police can work from.Learn more
• Records researchAddress histories, vehicles, court filings, property records and public social media searched through lawful, permissible-purpose sources for any recent activity.Learn more
• Hospital and shelter checksHospitals, behavioral health facilities, shelters and day centers contacted within their privacy rules in each area the person was known to frequent.Learn more
• Jail and court checksDetention rosters, court calendars and booking records reviewed where public, so families learn quickly if the person is in custody somewhere.Learn more
• Field canvassFriends, coworkers, neighbors and businesses the person used visited and interviewed, with flyers placed where the family requests them to be.Learn more
• Vulnerable adult supportSearches for seniors and adults with disabilities coordinated closely with police, county adult protective services and any care facility involved.Learn more
• Vehicle tracingRegistration, sightings and lawful records research used to trace a missing person's vehicle, with any sighting passed to police immediately.Learn more
• Estranged relative locatesRelatives who are not in danger but cannot be reached located for families, estates and counsel, with contact made only as appropriate.Learn more
• Written updates and reportRegular written updates and a final report listing every lead checked, every result and every item passed to the investigating agency.Learn more

How it works

How a Colorado search for a missing adult runs

1. 01

   Confirm the report

   We confirm a police or sheriff's report exists, note the case number and officer, and agree with the family on scope, budget and how often updates will come.

2. 02

   Records first

   Records research begins immediately, because addresses, vehicles, court filings and public social media often show the most recent activity within hours of the search starting.

3. 03

   Field checks

   Investigators check hospitals, shelters, jails and known places, interview contacts and canvass where the person was last seen, passing every lead to the investigating agency.

4. 04

   Resolution

   When the person is found, we confirm safety respectfully, respect an adult's wishes about contact and deliver a written report of every step taken for the family.

Compare

Who does what when an adult is missing in Colorado

Statewide coverage

Missing person searches across Colorado

Denver metro searches are handled by investigators assigned to Denver, Aurora and Lakewood, where shelters, hospitals and transit hubs are concentrated. Southern Front Range cases run through Colorado Springs, and northern Colorado through Fort Collins and Greeley. Western Slope searches are coordinated through Grand Junction, and southwest cases, including those near tribal lands, through Durango, and southern plains cases through Pueblo. Mountain and I-70 corridor work is scheduled around weather and closures, and every family has one point of contact, one written scope and regular written updates.

• Denver
• Aurora
• Lakewood
• Colorado Springs
• Grand Junction
• Durango
• 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