PARK COUNTY, Colo. — Investigators with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation are warning the public not to fall for disinformation in the Maggie Long case after they became aware of “unauthorized flyers” being spreading in the Bailey community.
Maggie Long, 17, was a high school senior when she came home from Platte Canyon High School on Dec. 1, 2017.
Park County Sheriff Tom McGraw said Long was heading home to pick up some baked goods she intended to bring to a school event. Previous reporting from Denver7 said Long went home to change clothes.
Investigators believe Long walked into her home and found a burglary in progress.
"She was held by these individuals for several hours," said Park County Sheriff Tom McGraw. “As they were leaving, they took her, they took her into her bedroom, and they poured an accelerant over her body while she was still alive, and then they lit her on fire, and then they left the house partially burnt.”
Deputies with the Park County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to a house fire at 3763 County Road 43 near Bailey around 7 p.m. McGraw, who became sheriff in 2019, said the first responders initially treated the scene as an arson or accidental fire case, before they found Long's remains.
Eight years after her murder, the CBI is now warning the public to not fall for misinformation.
“The CBI wishes to state unequivocally that the Maggie Long Task Force remains active and is aggressively pursuing justice,” a spokesperson for the agency said in a news release.
Although details about what was on the flyers was not immediately released by the CBI, officials appeared to suggest they allege the investigation into the Maggie Long case has concluded, or at the very least, has gone cold.
“While the original task force website mentioned in these flyers was deactivated in 2021, this was an administrative change and not an indication that the case has gone cold or that work has ceased,” CBI officials said in a news release.
A spokesperson for the agency added the investigation transitioned to a dedicated state-led task force to streamline resources and digital security.
“The public is urged to exercise caution regarding social media groups and unauthorized ‘task forces,’” a CBI spokesperson wrote, adding that the official Maggie Long Task Force has never operated a Facebook page.
CBI officials also strongly discouraged the public from reporting information about the case to any social media-based groups or non-associated individuals, as providing information to “unauthorized parties can compromise the integrity of the legal process and delay justice for Maggie.”
A $75,000 reward is being offered for information that leads investigators to a resolution of the case.
Anyone with information that could help Park County authorities is asked to reach out to the Maggie Long Task Force tip line can be reached at (303) 239-4243. Or, individuals can email maggie.long.tips@state.co.us. Tipsters can remain anonymous.
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