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CRAIG, Colorado — A Moffat County sheriff's deputy and a Colorado wildlife officer were briefly held hostage by a man and woman Monday before a shooting that left the man dead and led to the woman's arrest, according to investigators.
The shooting happened 8 miles east of Dinosaur, Colorado, just before 2:30 p.m., after the officers decided to investigate a "suspicious vehicle" parked on a hillside above U.S. 40, according to a statement issued Tuesday by the 14th Judicial District's critical incident team.
"The officers encountered a male and female who, the evidence indicates, briefly took them hostage," the statement said. "A struggle ensued, during which the male suspect was shot fatally."
The man's name has not been released, pending notification of his family.
The woman, identified as Georgie Louise Hand, was taken into custody. She was treated at a Colorado hospital for a medical issue not related to the shooting, according to sources with knowledge of the incident.
Moffat County Sheriff KC Hume identified the deputy Tuesday as Bhrent Shock, a veteran of the sheriff's office with more than a decade of law enforcement experience. Shock has been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard practice following any officer-involved shooting, Hume said.
Mike Porras, spokesman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said the agency has decided not to release the name of its officer for now but will do so at a later date. The officer is also on paid administrative leave, per agency policy, Porras said.
The deputy and the wildlife officer were uninjured, authorities said.
A search of Utah court records shows a judge issued a $30,000 warrant for Hand's arrest on Feb. 24. Hand, of Moss Point, Mississippi, is charged in Utah's 4th District Court with five counts of unauthorized use of a financial transaction card, a third-degree felony; one count of burglary; a third-degree felony; and six counts of theft, a class B misdemeanor.
Hand, 43, used business checks and a credit card taken from a Wasatch County restaurant where she worked from time to time to steal more than $6,100, according to charging documents. The detective who investigated the case wrote in a sworn affidavit that Hand has an "extensive history" of similar offenses and has "active warrants in different states for the same behavior."
Hand has not been formally charged in connection with Monday's shooting, because the investigation is ongoing.
