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Longmont Emergency Unit
In The News
 December 10th, 2006: SWAT team surrounds home in Longmont |
By Pierrette J. Shields
The Daily Times-Call
LONGMONT — Longmont police late Sunday surrounded a home on the 1300 block of Red Mountain Drive with a barricaded man inside, but began pulling out at about 12:45 a.m. today, apparently without making an arrest.
A child may have been inside with him, according to police radio traffic.
Police on scene declined to speak about why the man was barricaded inside 1301 Red Mountain Drive in a standoff that began at about 9:30 p.m., promising instead a news release at the conclusion of the incident. Sergeants were also unavailable during the incident to explain the original call.
At 12:30 a.m., officers broadcasting on radios from the scene began to plan a pullout.
Police cruisers, paramedics and civilian vehicles of SWAT officers responding to the scene lined Monarch Court in the typically quiet northeast Longmont neighborhood.
Officers used a bullhorn and attempted phone calls to speak with the man they called “Armando.” Commands were called out in both English and in Spanish. Boulder County Assessor’s records do not list an “Armando” as a homeowner at the address.
Officers tried to persuade him to turn on his cellular phone so his girlfriend could call him.
Longmont Emergency Unit staff blocked off access to the area.
Pierrette J. Shields can be reached at 303-684-5273, or by e-mail at pshields@times-call.com.
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| December 5th, 2006: Driver loses control of SUV, slides into river |
NEWS 4 REPORT (3.77 MB)
7 NEWS REPORT (1.87 MB)
By Trevor Hughes
The Daily Times-Call
LYONS — An Estes Park man driving toward Lyons lost control of his sport utility vehicle and slid into the St. Vrain River on Tuesday morning but suffered only minor injuries, authorities said.
The 7:10 a.m. accident destroyed the gold Honda CR-V being driven by Norris Nahman, 81, the Colorado State Patrol said.
Trooper David Erickson said Nahman appeared to have escaped serious injury because he was wearing his seat belt and the SUV was equipped with side-curtain airbags.
Erickson said Nahman apparently lost control on a curve at the 17.5-mile marker and drove off the right side of U.S. Highway 36 into the river, hitting a rock and spinning around before breaking through the ice-covered river. The SUV did not roll over but lost a wheel in the accident and ended up axle-deep in the water.
Nahman, the sole occupant of the vehicle, was taken to Longmont United Hospital for medical care. He was rescued by the Lyons Fire Department with help from the Longmont Emergency Unit, which is the area’s designated water-rescue group.
The crash forced the temporary closure of U.S. 36 as firefighters rescued Nahman and tow-truck drivers hauled his wrecked SUV from the river.
Nahman was discharged from LUH within hours of the crash, according to the hospital.
Erickson said he hadn’t yet determined a cause of the accident by Tuesday morning because Nahman was taken to LUH right after the crash.
I’ve got to talk to the driver to see what happened,” Erickson said. “I have some ideas, but I have to talk to him.”
Trevor Hughes can be reached at 303-684-5220, or by e-mail at thughes@times-call.com.
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| June 8th, 2006: TV Project Lifesaver Demonstration |
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| June 7th, 2006: Body Discovered Near Lyons |
By Lisa Pogue
Estes Park Trail-Gazette
story can be found at: http://www.eptrail.com/archives/2006/06june/06-07wed.html
Investigation being handled as homicide
Boulder County police are working with agencies statewide to identify human remains found Sunday afternoon approximately 3.5 miles southwest of Lyons.
Two hikers discovered the severely decomposed body in a lightly forested area south of the South St. Vrain Creek in the 30,000 block of Highway 7, reporting it to Boulder County authorities around 2 p.m. Sunday.
Officials said the body, believed to be that of an adult, is in an advanced state of decomposition. Police were unable to determine the gender.
“The advanced state of decomposition made it virtually unrecognizable. There were no discernable features. It’s pretty bad,” Boulder County Sheriff’s Commander Phil West said. “Because of the somewhat diminutive stature, the hikers originally thought it might be a child, but following further investigation, we have determined it’s an adult.”
The Boulder County Coroner’s Office x-rayed the body Monday and will conduct an autopsy this week to establish the decedent’s identity and the cause and manner of death, officials said.
Autopsy results may be released later this week, depending upon the ongoing investigation’s status and the Coroner’s findings, West said.
Officials declined to comment whether foul play was suspected and said no clear cause of death was evident. Under the circumstances and as a precaution, officials said the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office is treating the event as a homicide.
The remains were found on U.S. Forest Service land and Colorado Department of Transportation right-of-way near mile marker 29.9 along U.S. Highway 7. Though picnickers, recreationists and fisherman frequent the area, West said there are some game paths nearby, but no regularly groomed trails.
According to police, a pair of hikers discovered the body in a fairly inaccessible area just south of the river’s south bank. Longmont Emergency Unit’s Water Rescue crew provided a safety line and raft to help police cross the swift-moving South St. Vrain Creek and evacuate the body from the scene Sunday night, West said.
Boulder County officials will use the Colorado Bureau of Investigation statewide missing persons database to try and identify the remains.
No plausible matches are listed within Boulder County Sheriff’s jurisdiction, “but there may be some in the immediate vicinity,” West said. “Longmont reported a missing party, but we have ruled it out, it wasn’t a match.”
Other agencies began calling Boulder police earlier this week attempting to identify the body, West said Monday.
“It’s very badly decomposed so a lot of this case is going to depend on any information that we receive from outside parties, other agencies,” he said. “It could be a long investigation.”
The public is encouraged to report any tips to lead investigator Jason Oehlkers at 303-441-4763.
Investigation updates will be posted on the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office Web site at www.bouldersheriff.org.
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| May 21st, 2006: Blaze Destroys Garage |
By Pierrette J. Shields
The Daily Times-Call
LAFAYETTE — An evening fire destroyed a garage, an outbuilding and threatened a home north of Lafayette on Sunday.
No one was seriously injured in the blaze, which was reported at 6:10 p.m.
The fire engulfed the unattached garage at 11874 Billings Ave. in part because of items stored in the garage that fueled the flames.
Jesse Hodgson, spokesman for Mountain View Fire Protection District, said the district didn’t have enough firefighters on duty to respond quickly and strongly enough to knock down the flames. The district called for mutual aid from other agencies, including the Lafayette and Frederick fire departments. The Longmont Emergency Unit also responded to support the firefighters and control traffic in the neighborhood.
“We didn’t have enough people to do it,” Hodgson said. “So we called everybody.”
Hodgson said a tenant at the home was working in the garage when a small fire started. He attempted to hook up a garden hose to fight it but called 911, breathless, for help. Because dispatchers couldn’t initially understand the man, they called it as a medical problem and dispatched an engine and ambulance.
However, Hodgson said, they soon understood it was a fire. The first engine arrived within six or seven minutes, he said.
Because the fire took a strong hold on the garage, firefighters moved to defend the nearby home.
A firefighter and the tenant were treated and released at the scene.
Pierrette J. Shields can be reached at 303-684-5273, or by e-mail at pshields@times-call.com.
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| April 22nd, 2006: Body Found In Lake |
Colorado Daily Staff Report
story can be found at: http://www.coloradodaily.com/articles/2006/04/22/news/c_u_and_
boulder/news3.txt
The Boulder County Sheriff's department has recovered the body of an adult female from a lake north of Boulder.
The body was discovered in shallow water at Gaynor Lake, 2 miles south of Longmont. A dive team from the Longmont Emergency Unit discovered the body at about 5 p.m. Friday evening. The Emergency Unit had been assisting the Boulder Sheriff's department in a search for a missing Longmont woman. The dive team recovered the body from the lake with the assistance of the Boulder Emergency squad.
The sheriff's department and the Boulder county coroner are currently investigating the death, according to a press release. The body shows no signs of physical trauma, the release said and foul play is not currently suspected. The Coroners department was scheduled to conduct an autopsy of the body Saturday, but had not, by press time, released a statement as to the cause of death.
The identity of the body has not yet been confirmed. Officials will not release the identity of the body until family members have been notified and an identity has been positively identified.
The sheriff's department has been searching for a missing Longmont woman in the area, who disappeared from her home Tuesday.
The missing woman, Christina Marie Winwood, 50, also known as “Tina” is a resident of the Gaynor Lake subdivision in Longmont. A press release from the sheriff's department said she was last seen in her neighborhood by another resident on Tuesday.
According to the sheriff's department, family members of Winwood have said she has mental health issues that may have contributed to her disappearance. She is unlikely to have any form of identification, or cash or credit cards with her, a press release said..
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| March 3rd, 2006: LEU & BES Respond To Rescue A Horse |
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| February 5th, 2006: LEU Assists with Search of Missing Hiker |
photo taken from 9news video
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| December 31st, 2005: Cyclist down on Nelson Road |
Longmont Boulder County Bicycling
story can be found at: http://www.masoner.net/bike/2006/01/cyclist-down-on-nelson-road.html
Boulder County Sheriff’s deputies, firefighters from Hygiene Fire Department, paramedics from Pridemark, and the Longmont Emergency Unit responded to the 5900 block of Nelson road for an injured bicyclist at approximately 11:33 am Saturday morning. The location is near the large antenna farm west of 63rd Street.
Upon arrival by emergency units, the injured bicyclist was treated for injuries by Pridemark paramedics at the scene. Due to the serious nature of his injuries, a Flight-for Life helicopter was called in. The helicopter landed in a farm field on the south side of the road. The bicyclist was then transported to St. Anthony’s North by the Flight-For-Life helicopter. Colorado State Patrol responded to the accident to begin the investigation.
The Longmont Emergency Unit closed both East and Westbound Nelson road for approximately 60 minutes until the accident could be investigated and the road cleared of Emergency vehicles. At this time the name and condition of the victim is being withheld until proper notification of the family.
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| June 30th, 2005: Accident Triggers Search |
By Pierrette J. Shields
The Daily Times-Call
Officers find man they believe drove truck into river; nobody hurt
Lyons – A water rescue team made two trips to the St. Vrain River after getting reports that two people might have been in a truck that ended up in the water Thursday, but rescuers came up with only bags and clothing to show for the effort.
No one was injured in the accident southwest of Lyons, but a Longmont man was arrested later in the afternoon, according to police.
The Longmont Emergency Unit rescue team made its first trip after the truck went into the St. Vrain at about 4 p.m. They found no one in the truck, and it was towed from the river, said Marci Linton, coordinator for Boulder Emergency Services.
Officers found the man they believe was driving the truck Johnny Doser, 28, of Longmont on Colo. Highway 7, Linton said.
Despite being soaking wet, Doser denied being involved in the accident, said Tiffany Steakley of the Lyons Fire Protection District.
In initial interviews with the Colorado State Patrol troopers, Doser denied being the driver of the truck, Said Master Trooper Ron Watkins, spokesman for the Colorado State Patrol. Then he told troopers that two other people were in the truck when it crashed, Watkins said.
So the water rescue team was called back to to the river to search for them.
Rescuers searched under rocks and swam through swift rapids looking for anyone who may have been swept away after the accident. The plucked bags and clothing – but no victims – from the water.
“These two people were located at another location,” Watkins said. He said they were never in the truck.
Doser was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and on outstanding warrants Watkins said, and taken to the Boulder County Jail on Thursday night.
Pierrette J. Shields can be reached at 303-684-5273, or by e-mail at pshields@times-call.com.
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| June 16th, 2005: Farm Worker Dies |
Excavator slid into manure-filled pond
By Trevor Hughes and Jenn Ooton
The Daily Times-Call
LONGMONT — A Niwot-area man died Thursday at the Adam Dairy farm east of Longmont after the tracked excavator in which he was working slid into a manure-filled pond.
Richard “Ricky” Kneale, 23, was digging at the pond’s edge with his grandfather’s excavator at around noon when the bank gave way. The 60,000-pound machine slid sideways into several feet of dark sludge, entombing Kneale in the cab.
The sole door on the machine, on the left-hand side, was pinned shut by the weight of the machine, firefighters said. Kneale tried to lever himself out with the excavator’s bucket and arm, firefighters said, but the cab filled with the liquid.
Kneale had planned to have lunch with his girlfriend, Karina Chumacero, and she arrived a few minutes after the accident, unaware of what had happened.
She said she called Kneale’s cell phone trying to find out where he was, and said she couldn’t see his machine. About 10 minutes later, a farmworker asked her if she knew how to get in contact with Kneale because the excavator had slid into the pond.
Get him out of the water ... he’s my boyfriend,” cried Chumacero, 19, as she watched the rescue. “He’s been under there for almost an hour.”
It took rescuers from Mountain View Fire Protection District and the Longmont Fire Department about three hours to reach Kneale’s body. They first stabilized the machine using two massive tow trucks, then had to pump out the pond with a vacuum truck from Longmont’s Public Works Department.
Firefighters were first called to the farm north of Colo. Highway 119 on Weld County Road 51/2 at about 12:30 p.m.
We’ve been here 45 years and nothing like this has happened before,” said Bonnie Adam, who owns the dairy with her husband, George. “He just got a little too close to the edge.”
Kneale was working for his grandfather’s company, Long Reach Excavators of Colorado, on contract with the dairy, according to Adam. Firefighters said Kneale had been working on the pond since Wednesday.
Chumacero, Adam and about a dozen farmworkers watched as other farmworkers initially tried to drain the pond by digging holes in its banks. The water atop the sludge ran off but did not expose the cab.
By 1 p.m., firefighters from Mountain View fire privately acknowledged that Kneale could not have survived in the cab. They didn’t reach his body until about 2:45 p.m.
Kneale’s grandmother, Betty Trainer, said her grandson was the company’s main operator. Kneale and Chumacero lived with his grandparents.
He’s happy-go-lucky. He’s a wonderful kid. I can’t describe anything,” said Trainer. “My mind is only worrying about him. Oh, Lord.”
Kneale had a 4-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.
He lives his life for his grandpa,” Chumacero said, remembering the man to whom she was introduced by a friend about a year ago. “He really loves his daughter a lot. We spent every day together since we met.”
Weld County Sheriff’s deputies cordoned off the accident site at about 1 p.m., and the Weld County Coroner was called to the scene at 11684 WCR 51/2.
This is so hard to take,” Adam said as she walked back into her home. “It’s so hard.”
Longmont firefighters with the city’s technical rescue team helped recover Kneale’s body. They were then given the rest of their shifts off because they were so upset, according to a Longmont Fire battalion chief. Divers from the Longmont Emergency Unit also assisted Mountain View in the rescue and recovery effort.
Trevor Hughes can be reached at 303-684-5220, or by e-mail at thughes@times-call.com.
Jenn Ooton can be reached at 303-684-5295 of by e-mail at jooton@times-call.com.
photo by: Daily Times-Call
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| March 25th, 2005: LEU Removes Car from Burch Lake |
Adam Bradley of the Longmont Emergency Unit prepares to hook a tow line to a 1998 Toyota 4Runner on Friday following an accident at Burch Lake on Colo. Highway 66 northwest of Hygiene. According to the state patrol
photo by: Longmont Daily Times-Call
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| February 12th, 2005: House Fire Partially Destroys Firestone Home |
Frederick/Firestone and Mountain View Fire Department Responded to the 10,000 block of Taylor Ave in Firestone for a fire that destroyed the 2nd story of a home. Longmont Emergency Unit was requested by command quickly and we were able to respond quickly to refill firefighters SCBA bottles.
photo by: Longmont Daily Times-Call
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| January 23rd, 2005: Traffic For SWAT Call In Longmont |
CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO SEE VIDEOS
 WB2
 9news
 Fox31
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| September 21st, 2004: Man Dies In Watery Crash |
By Victoria A.F. Camron and Abbe Smith
The Daily Times-Call
A Longmont man died Tuesday afternoon after the red Toyota pickup truck he was driving crashed through several fences and sank into a lake at 95th Street and Yellowstone Road.
Firefighters from the Hygiene Volunteer Fire Department jumped into Crystal Lake to rescue the driver, who was submerged for at least 20 minutes. He was later pronounced dead at Longmont United Hospital.
The Colorado State Patrol identified the man Tuesday night as Gary Rosenbaum, 59, of Longmont. Boulder County Coroner Tom Faure said an autopsy is scheduled for this morning.
Rosenbaum’s son Brad said his parents own Crabtree Dental Laboratory, 1055 17th Ave., which makes false teeth and other items for dentists.
Gary Rosenbaum and his wife, Deborah, recently celebrated their 23rd wedding anniversary, Brad Rosenbaum said. They have lived in Longmont “a while.”
“He worked a lot for us so we could have what we do have,” Brad Rosenbaum said.
Gary Rosenbaum liked to go camping, boating and fishing with his family, which included a daughter and another son.
“He did that a lot,” Brad Rosenbaum said.
Gary Rosenbaum belonged to and was very involved with LifeBridge Christian Church. “He loved the Lord,” Brad Rosenbaum said.
The family had not heard many details of the crash, and were awaiting autopsy results, Brad Rosenbaum said.
From her kitchen window, Terri McKendrick saw the red pickup crash through a fence on the west side of her yard at 9505 Yellowstone Road at about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, then called 911.
The truck, which had been traveling south on 95th Street, shot across her yard and crashed through the fence on the south end of the property, which sits on the northeast corner of Yellowstone Road and 95th Street, or Larimer County Road 21.
“It was going faster than most cars on (county road) 21,” she said, adding she could not see the driver.
The speed limit there is 45 mph.
Across Yellowstone Road, the truck crashed through another fence around the Meadow Green Farm gated community, crossed a small road, then headed down a muddy hill. It just missed hitting a mound of dirt before plunging into the lake.
Crystal Lake is approximately three-eighths of a mile south of Yellowstone Road.
McKendrick drove to a locked gate near the broken fence and called 911 again when she saw the truck sinking into the lake, she said. She then called Meadow Green Farm and got the code to open the gate.
A sign next to the broken fence reads “No trespassing.”
Ray Lamb and Jeff Andrew of the Hygiene Volunteer Fire Department were the first to search the lake for the truck.
The two initially waded into the lake without diving gear, but could not find the truck, said Lamb, who was shirtless under a yellow fire-fighting jacket.
During a second attempt, Andrew found the tailgate. The cab of the truck was about 1 to 2 feet under water, which was about 6 feet deep, Lamb said.
Ken Sadar, another Hygiene firefighter, joined Lamb and Andrew in the water. The three then opened the door, cut the seatbelt with a Leatherman knife and removed the man a few minutes before 1 p.m.
“It was very cold,” Andrew said, shivering and wrapped in a blanket.
Divers from the Longmont Emergency Unit checked the fully submerged 1998 Toyota Tacoma SR5 pickup truck to ensure there were no passengers inside, said Hygiene Fire Chief J.J. Hoffman.
About 2 p.m., the pickup truck was towed out of the lake, with its windshield wipers still operating. A piece of white fence remained lodged in the pickup truck’s grill until a tow-truck operator removed it.
Victoria Camron can be reached at 303-776-2244, Ext. 226, or by e-mail at vcamron@times-call.com.
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Longmont Emergency Unit was featured on the Longmont Police Department's "Behind the Badge" television show to demonstrate how Project Lifesaver is used to locate PLS clients.