Clear Creek County Sheriff apologizes during investigation into Paul Peavey’s death

CLEAR CREEK COUNTY, Colorado – In a public apology, the Clear Creek County Sheriff acknowledged that the department’s initial response to the investigation into a recent death was “unacceptable” and said an internal investigation is underway.

The sheriff’s office first made public the death of 57-year-old Paul Peavey on Saturday, when it notified the public that it was conducting a death investigation in the 1000 block of Two Brothers Road north of Idaho Springs. In the same post, the department said it had received a report of a missing person the previous Wednesday — later confirmed to be Peavey.

A privately organized search party discovered his body on Saturday.

That evening, the Clear Creek Coroner’s Office identified the deceased as Peavey and said his death is being considered a homicide, although few other details are available. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is assisting in the investigation.

Peavey’s bred Dobermans and several puppies — up to 10, all microchipped — were reported missing from his property. This is still part of the investigation and anyone with information about the dogs is asked to contact the sheriff’s office at 303-679-2393 or [email protected].

In a statement released Tuesday, Sheriff Matthew D. Harris apologized for the initial response to the case, which he said “did not meet our professional standards.”

He briefly outlined the timeline of the case so far: The sheriff’s office received a call on Wednesday, August 21, from a person who believed Peavey was missing. No one had heard from him in more than 48 hours, the caller said.

“In response to this report, an officer contacted the citizen in question to obtain additional information, but the officer did not respond to Mr. Peavey’s property,” Harris’ statement said.

The next day, the person in question called again and another officer opened a missing person report.

“He reported Mr. Peavey missing in state and national databases, traveled to the property, interviewed several acquaintances and requested a welfare check in the county in Colorado where Mr. Peavey was planning to move,” Harris said. “He also requested a ping message for Mr. Peavey’s cell phone location.”

However, Harris said the sheriff’s office should have searched Peavey’s property more thoroughly, shared its information on social media and participated in the organized search on Saturday.

“When I was appointed your sheriff, I promised transparency, professionalism, accountability and a review of our policies and practices to improve our calls for service,” his statement said. “I promised to share our successes, but also to acknowledge and report our shortcomings. We have made many improvements and changes at every level of the Sheriff’s Office, but there is still much work to do. Unfortunately, our response during our initial assessment of the missing person report last Wednesday did not meet our professional standards. In short, the way we handled the initial call is not acceptable.”

The sheriff’s office will conduct an internal investigation to “determine how and why we failed and to ensure that our community receives the service it deserves from my office,” he said.

At the end of his statement, he apologized to the members of the search party who found Peavey’s body and expressed his condolences to his family and friends.