Transcript Wheat Ridge
July 11, 2013
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourwheatridgenews.com
Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 30, Issue 3
Missing woman’s remains found Leann ‘Annie’ Meyer case becomes death investigation By Vic Vela
vvela@ourcoloradonews.com At the very least, for those who loved Leann “Annie” Meyer, the tormenting uncertainty is over. “We know where she’s at,” said Tammy Haselhorst of Wheat Ridge, a longtime friend of Meyer’s. “She’s not out there alone anymore.” Five months after the disappearance of the 51-year-old Meyer, authorities on July 9 announced that they had located the Wheat Ridge woman’s remains in Park County. But the question reMeyer mains: How did this happen? “One of the stated outcomes from the family was to find Annie, and we found her,” said Wheat Ridge Police Chief Dan Brennan during a City Hall press conference. “Now our investigation shifts from trying to find Annie to putting together a successful prosecution.” Authorities have to wait until Meyer’s cause of death is determined before they officially designate the case as a homicide. But there is plenty of cause for authorities to consider her disappearance and death suspicious as they investigate what happened to the Minnesota native who called Wheat Ridge her home. There are no suspects at this time, but authorities said at the press conference that they consider a former roommate of Meyer’s to be a “person of interest” in the case. Park County Sheriff’s Capt. Sven Bonnelycke said deputies there received a call on July 4 from someone who had found bones on a private property near Bailey. It was later determined that the remains were those of Meyer’s. “This is the first significant lead in this case,” said Wheat Ridge police Cmdr. Dave Pickett, who acknowledged that investigators are “not in a position where an arrest is imminent.” Pickett said investigators do not know of any connection between Meyer and the property where she was found, nor do they consider the property owner a suspect. Authorities are not releasing information as to
Wheat Ridge Police Chief Dan Brennan speaks to reporters about the investigation into the death of Leann “Annie” Meyer during a press conference at Wheat Ridge City Hall on July 9. Photo by Vic Vela
‘There are certain pieces of this investigation that only we know and the suspect knows, so we can’t disclose that at this time.’ Wheat Ridge Police Chief Dan Brennan exactly where on the property the remains were found or whether the remains indicate whether foul play was involved. “There are certain pieces of this investigation that only we know and the suspect knows, so we can’t disclose that at this time,” Brennan said afterward.
Meyer spoke with her mother on the phone on Feb. 10 – the last time she had contact with any of her friends or family. Two of her vehicles were found the next month: Her 1995 silver Toyota pickup in a parking lot near West 72th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard on March 13, and, a
few days later, a 2009 RAV4, discovered in Wheat Ridge. Pickett said that Meyer’s former roommate, Melissa Miller, is being considered a person of interest in the case. However, Miller has invoked her constitutional right against self-incrimination. “She’s invoked her Fifth Amendment rights, which are absolute,” Pickett said. “So our ability to speak with her is nonexistent.” While the case continues to be investigated, friends and family are trying to take some solace in the fact that they no longer have to wonder whether Meyer is suffering. “We’re just happy she’s been found,” said her mother, Pat Meyer of Minnesota, who said she has made six trips to Colorado since news surfaced of her daughter’s disappearance. “We hope whoever was responsible is found also, but it’s a good feeling to know where she is.
Relocated businesses find home in city Wheat Ridge teams with shop, eatery By Vic Vela
vvela@ourcoloradonews.com
Willie Stewart touches up a tattoo inside his Ananda Art and Tattoo shop on Wheat Ridge’s 38th Avenue on July 3. Photo by Vic Vela POSTAL ADDRESS
It wasn’t long ago that Willie Stewart ran his Ananda Art and Tattoo shop in Denver’s Highland neighborhood, a hip and vibrant urban playground that for years has been one of the trendiest places to live in the Mile High City. But when Stewart’s lease was due for renewal last year, he decided to pack his inks and needles and take his business elsewhere. “I mean the Highlands is cool, but real estate was getting ridiculous,” said Stewart, who opened his shop there in 2009. “And there’s nowhere to park,
and there were some weird, pretentious people you had to deal with.” Now, Stewart operates on Wheat Ridge’s 38th Avenue, in a downtown corridor between Sheridan and Wadsworth Boulevards known as the Ridge at 38. “I never thought about coming out to Wheat Ridge,” he said. “It was definitely a gamble. Just leaving that ZIP code seemed crazy to me, leaving Denver proper and coming out to the ‘burbs. But I think its actually a good move.” Folks like Stewart are exactly the kind of business owner whom the City of Wheat Ridge is trying to lure away from places like Denver, through marketing and business incentives, such as the Revitalization Incentive Program Through the Wheat Ridge
Business District — a 38th Avenue revitalization partnership between the city and business owners — the program provides up to $11,000 in matching grants for façade and sign improvements, and architectural design. The money is budgeted through the city’s general fund. Through the Revitalization Incentive Program and other incentives available to businesses, the city is hoping to attract new shops and eateries to this upand-coming downtown area. Home continues on Page 12
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