$10,000 Reward Offered In 2 Durango-Area Murder Investigations

DURANGO, Colo. (CBS4) - The FBI needs the public's help with two investigations in the Durango area. In both cases, the victims disappeared in Towoac and were murdered.

The first case is of Odell Vest who was last seen around July 10-11, 2000, during a house party in Towaoc.

The second case is the disappearance and murder of Avery Whiteskunk, last seen on Jan. 30, 2004 in Towaoc. The next day, his family filed a missing person's report with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Whiteskunk's body was found March 19, 2004, on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation. An autopsy determined the cause of his death was homicide.

In November 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice launched the National Strategy to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons which prompted these investigations to be renewed.

FBI Denver is hoping the public can offer new investigative leads.   

The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for either of these murders.