snow on Mount Sopris
After her classes, Morgan came home and just hung out and rested. I worked and waited to meet our detective at 4:00 pm. Steve came home early from work, and we laid out our array of papers for the meeting.
The detective called and he was running late, I told him we were all home and ready anytime, so that was fine. Just before 5:00 pm we met, it was 56 days into Morgan’s stalking, and now it was officially a felony stalking case. We hadn’t called the sheriffs on day one of the stalking, so it was actually more like around 52 days since the first call to the Garfield sheriffs, but they knew when it had first started. The detective didn’t have the case number with him, but said he would get that to us once he got back to his office and looked it up.
We went over our records, showed him the cameras and the systems in place to protect Morgan. He told us that not many people went to such lengths, and we could certainly file a claim, a compensation claim with the victim’s rights coordinator, and get reimbursed for at least part of what we were spending on all of our stuff. That was nice to hear as it was a considerable expense so far, but we never did. We were more hopeful about putting an end to all of this, and there had not been one in sight up until now, we all discussed exactly where this case was at this moment in time.
The detective had obviously talked with some of the deputies who had become our “regulars” on the case so far. He said Garfield County had a protocol of shifting the officers around to different areas of the county on a regular basis, and we did not have a group of the same two or three deputies, over time, I wouldn’t be surprised if we had met all of the patrol deputies eventually in the entire department. He knew that the deputies so far had zeroed in on one person, but he said he was going to be revisiting everything and would, “go where the evidence led him.” It was too late to cast any of the footprints or fingerprints, and at that time none of our pictures were clear enough to identify one exact person, so it could take a while.
Morgan explained the usual events, and how she had been followed, and was not certain when it had really began, but knew that since August 2 it had been pretty constant. The detective asked her for suspects, and Morgan had one name for him, Keenan Vanginkel, we added a few more to the list, but those names we thought might be helping the stalker, and not actually the stalker. She was downplaying her fear, and how upset she would get, so I felt I had to encourage her to tell the detective how she really felt as this was happening – that helped. Morgan had built up a wall to what was going on, and when she let that down she instantly started to tear up, and almost cry, as she explained how she felt about what had been happening. Morgan never liked to be thought of as weak, and it was uncomfortable to watch her struggle, but it had to come out. I wondered if the detective was seeing the same thing I was.
After he left, Morgan could not get out of the house fast enough. She was upset that she had shown a little weakness, and was now going to see her friends in Carbondale, where she could pretend everything was normal. Steve and I talked about the meeting, and were not sure what to make of it, it was not what I had expected, but then I had nothing to compare it with either.
Steve texted Morgan at 7:35 pm, “Just left for dinner. Text me when you gonna come home cuz mom left her phone at home.” Morgan answered, “Will do. :). “ Later, at 8:40 pm Steve texted again “We are home.” Morgan came home at 10:00 pm and went to bed. She didn’t say anything about the detective or her stalker.
In a replay of the last few nights, the motion detector went off at 10:43 pm, and I waited for another rock on Morgan’s window. That did not happen, but I had heard noise outside our room, when Steve went to look, he didn’t find anything out of the ordinary, and we went to sleep.
(Police reports later show the “suspect” was not working this evening. On 9.26.2011 he worked from 8:30 am – 12:59 pm & then from 1:30 pm – 5:27 pm)
Almost 2 years after Morgan’s murder we finally received the police reports (see this one supplemental below) – his date is incorrect – he called us on Sunday the 25th, but he did not meet with us until Monday the 26th:
Supplement Report #5 2011-20197
Print Date/Time: 10/01/2012 11:29 October 3, 2011
Garfield County Sheriff’s Office
ORI Number: CO0230000
A few weeks ago, I was advised of this case. It was further requested that I contact the victim family and consider putting up sheriff’s office issued wildlife cameras in an attempt to capture photos of the suspect(s).
On September 25, 2011, I met with the Ingrams at their home located at 62 Corral Dr. Carbondale, CO. We went over the case history. The Ingrams explained to me that the suspect(s) began to harass them in the first part of August 2011. Since then they have had a continuance presence by the suspect(s).
Activity will include small rocks being thrown at the house, scratching of the windows, and a known presence in their yard. The Ingrams have installed motion sensor lighting and wildlife cameras of their own.
On a regular basis, motion detectors will go off and the lights will turn on. Further evidence of suspect(s) activity will include shoe prints in a dirt area along the house. In one instance, outlined in Deputy Locklear’s previously submitted supplemental report, the Ingrams captured a photo of the suspect using one of their wildlife cameras. Deputy Locklear obtained the photo and submitted it into evidence. The photo depicts a male person but is not clear enough to show identity.
I requested that the Ingrams document every suspicious activity so that a log could be generated. Furthermore, I advised that the documentation would support a subsequent criminal prosecution.
I then took a tour of the home so I could learn the floor plan of the home. I also walked the exterior of the home. I then installed two wildlife cameras on the north side of the home. This area between the Ingram’s and the neighbor’s house is near where a lot of the activity is occurring. It is also the location of Morgan Ingram’s bedroom.
Click here to read about the 57th day of Morgan’s stalking https://morgansstalking.com/?p=1401