PAGOSA SPRINGS, Colo. — A suspect was arrested Friday in connection with the death of a man who disappeared from Pagosa Springs in October of 2021.
Glen Canyon Lee Hunt, 60, faces a murder charge in connection with Michael James Kroll's death.
On Oct. 21, 2021, the Pagosa Springs Police Department said that Kroll, 41, had been reported missing a few days prior on Oct. 19. He was last seen leaving work on Oct. 16 and the final time anybody had heard from him was via text that evening, police said.
Kroll was a resident of Joplin, Missouri and had been living in Pagosa Springs, which is in southwest Colorado, for a short time.
In addition to the police department, the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office, Upper San Juan Search and Rescue, and the Southern Ute Ranger Division helped with the search for Kroll, police said.
On Sept. 25, 2022, hikers discovered skeletal human remains around Middle Mountain Road (County Road 2274) northeast of Vallecito Reservoir, police said. The road is about 60 miles northwest of Pagosa Springs.
The remains were collected. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Forensic Laboratory and La Plata County Coroner's Office identified the remains as Kroll on Jan. 6.
However, the investigation into his death continued.
Then, more than 650 days after Kroll disappeared, the police department announced an arrest in the case.
Hunt, formerly of Archuleta County, was identified as a suspect by police and CBI. He was arrested on Friday morning in Kit Carson County on the far eastern plains and is being held on a $50,000 bond for a second-degree murder charge.
A possible motive is unknown as of now.
Anybody with information on this case is asked to call Det. Neagle at the Pagosa Springs Police Department at 970-264-4151 ext. 241.
No other details are being released as of now, the CBI said. This remains an active investigation.
