'Person Of Interest' Identified In Dylan Redwine Case, Father Says He Wasn't Aware
DURANGO, Colo. (CBS4) - CBS4 has confirmed that investigators have found a person of interest in the death of Dylan Redwine, a 14-year-old boy who disappeared in November 2012 from his father's home near Durango.
Dylan Redwine's partial remains were discovered in June 2013 during a search of Middle Mountain Road, not far from where he was last seen. The boy was living with his mother and brother, Cory, in the Colorado Springs area but was on a court-ordered visit to his father during Thanksgiving break.
Middle Mountain is located north and within sight of Vallecito Lake, near Dylan's father's house.
"It's a fair statement that we are very encouraged that we have crossed the bridge from the unknown to the known," Pete Klismet, who retired from the FBI after decades with the agency, told the Durango Herald.
Investigators in La Plata County have been working with Klismet on the case. There have been little to no leads in the case since Dylan went missing.
The person of interest's name hasn't been released and nobody is currently in custody. KKTV in Colorado Springs reported that Klismet told them the person of interest has been contacted and is aware of being a person of interest. He wouldn't confirm if it's a man or woman. He told KKTV he's investigated a number of similar cases and has never been wrong, and he's not wrong in this case.
"(We're) trying to be as thorough as we can in the case. Our ultimate goal is to find final justice for Dylan," Dan Bender with the La Plata County Sheriff's Office told CBS4.
The case got national attention when Dylan Redwine's parents blamed each other for his disappearance publicly on the Dr. Phil show. Elaine Hatfield, Dylan's mother, once again appeared on the show and she and her other son Cory confronted Dylan's father, Mark Redwine, by telephone. He once again denied any involvement in Dylan's death.
CBS4's Kelly Werthmann was able to contact Mark Redwine by phone. He told her that he didn't know anything about the new developments in the case. When Werthmann told him a person of interest has been identified, he said, "One would like to believe that."
"It's hard to have emotion when you don't know what's going on. I haven't heard from the sheriff's department," Mark Redwine told Werthmann when she asked about the potential break in the case.
He declined a recorded interview, adding he is not in Colorado, but said he "looks forward" to hearing from authorities.
CBS4 reached out to Elaine Hatfield but she didn't respond.
KKTV spoke with Dylan's aunt who believes Mark Redwine is the person of interest. Hatfield has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her ex-husband.
Last month investigators went back to scour the area where Dylan was last seen on Middle Mountain Road. "Items of interest" were found near where the boy's remains were found.
"As a result of that we are planning more searches in that area," Bender said.
Investigators were quick to say the person of interest was not a suspect, but there is new information in the case.
