(TheRedAlertNews.com) – Suspicions are growing that a serial killer might be stalking a popular ski resort in Northern Colorado after two women mysteriously disappeared there recently, according to police reports.
34-year-old Melissa Whitsitt and 51-year-old Svetlana Ustimenko have gone missing in Winter Park, Colorado, a resort located in Grand County and owned by the City of Denver, Fox News reports.
The Grand County Sheriff’s Office issued a press release announcing the disappearance of Whitsitt, who was last seen earlier this month on the 100 block of Woodspur Lane in Winter Park.
The investigators found that an unidentified male last used the missing woman’s phone shortly before she disappeared. The man called people in the Denver Metro Area on August 13.
“In May, she moved to Colorado to begin a job at Winter Park Resort. While we’ve been working with authorities this week, we’ve been advised to post here in the event that any possible connections and/or contact might help. We sincerely appreciate all prayers for our family,” a relative of Whitsitt wrote on Facebook.
In another missing woman case in Winter Park, which is separate from Whitsitt’s, according to the sheriff’s office, Svetlana Ustimenko, 51, went missing in July.
The woman is from Broward County, Florida, and has been diagnosed with a terminal illness.
“[She] was struggling as she tried to cope and was attracted to the Colorado mountains,” Colorado authorities revealed in a press release.
In late July, sheriff’s deputies and US Forest Service officers found her rental car parked at the Deadhorse Trailhead area off Grand County Road 73 near Fraser.
The car stood parked there “for an extended period of time,” and there was no sign of the woman renting the vehicle.
A search operation, including officers, volunteers, horses, drones, and cadaver dogs, has been in progress since August 11 but has been unable to locate the missing woman.
“This case highlights the incredible work and dedication of our professional Search and Rescue volunteers from Grand County and our surrounding entities. The family and I are very grateful to them for their courageous efforts,” Sheriff Brett Schroetlin said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Two cases are not related, and appear to be isolated incidents with no threat to the community,” his office had declared a day earlier.
