FBI says police in Colorado fatally shoot man suspected of kidnapping former fiancee

FBI: Police fatally shoot suspected kidnapper

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — A Colorado man suspected of kidnapping his former fiancee and later fleeing a Wyoming hotel just before authorities moved in to rescue her was fatally shot by police Friday, the FBI said.

The shooting during a confrontation between three Fort Collins police officers and Dennis Gene Cox followed an extensive manhunt that had been centered about 69 miles away in Laramie, Wyo., authorities said.

Laramie police began searching for Cox Friday after a woman he was suspected of kidnapping from Brighton, Colo., was found safe at a Laramie hotel Friday morning.

Julie Ann Kilgore, a 48-year-old nurse, left her home with Cox on Tuesday, Brighton police spokesman John Bradley said.

Relatives became suspicious, however, because Kilgore left a 7-year-old niece unattended. When Kilgore didn’t return, relatives called police, who then secured a warrant for Cox’s arrest on kidnapping charges.

Brighton is about 25 miles northeast of Denver, and about 55 miles south of Fort Collins.

Cox, 50, checked into the Laramie hotel on Thursday, Laramie Police Commander Mitchell Cushman said. He fled Friday morning just before police arrived and found Kilgore hiding under a desk in the lobby, authorities said.

Cox abandoned a Ford Taurus he was driving in downtown Laramie, police said. It was unclear how he got to Fort Collins.

The Friday afternoon shooting occurred on a downtown street near a bus station, Fort Collins police said.

“The suspect pointed a gun at the officers and officers shot the suspect,” a police statement said.