CHAFFEE COUNTY, Colo. — The father accused of taking his young son, who he does not have custody of, from Thornton on Friday had allegedly cut off his ankle monitor and led authorities on a high-speed pursuit, authorities said in an update Friday.
On Thursday around 4 p.m., the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) issued an Amber Alert for a 14-year-old boy who was missing from the Thornton area. CBI said they believed he was taken by his noncustodial father, Phillip Lee Torres, 46, of Thornton, who was driving a gray Chevy Silverado.
About 30 minutes later, the Amber Alert was canceled and CBI said the boy had been found safe.
The Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office provided more information about the situation on Friday.
They said they believe Torres took his son somewhere in Thornton without the consent of the boy's caregivers or the state, which was required.
"Torres had allegedly just recently been released from jail on bond and ankle monitor for serious child sex assault and kidnapping charges that he was about to go to trial on," the sheriff's office said. "Torres had cut his ankle monitor off this day in the Denver area and was believed to be running out of state or to Mexico."
At the time, Torres had an arrest warrant out for the following charges out of Adams County:
- Kidnapping of a child (sex assault)
- Sex assault (of child under 15 years old) aided with a weapon
- Enticement of a child with bodily injury
- Fist-degree assault (strangulation)
- Aggravated sex assault on a child
As authorities began searching for Torres and his vehicle, the Thornton Police Department reported that a license plate reader in Poncha Springs had detected the car. Residents and travelers in Chaffee County began calling to report the vehicle, the sheriff's office said.
With help from the community, authorities spotted the vehicle in downtown Salida. They tried to stop the vehicle, but Torres continued to flee, the sheriff's office said.
Deputies with the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office and officers with the Salida Police Department pursued him on westbound Highway 50 and then north on Highway 285, reaching speeds over 100 mph, the sheriff's office said. After about 15 miles, they were able to stop Torres' vehicle with stop sticks, which deflated the truck's tires, on Highway 285 just south of the junction with Highway 291.
Torres was taken into custody. His son, who was not hurt, was rescued and reunited with his family and caregivers, the sheriff's office said.
Torres was brought to the Chaffee County Detention Facility, where he was held on the warrant from the previous case, as well as $5,000 cash bond for the following new charges:
- Vehicular eluding created a substantial risk of bodily injury by operating a vehicle in a reckless manner
- Child abuse (knowingly or recklessly where no death or injury results)
- Reckless endangerment
- Violation of a criminal protection order
- Reckless driving
- Speeding (40+ over posted speed limit)
- Drove motor vehicle when license under restraint
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