Tim Watkins /// Part 1 /// 284 | Forensic Files

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[Music] [Music] tonight new information on the death of a local cyclist who went missing last
Thursday in the Palmer Lake Area Al pasel County Sheriff's investigators have upgraded
the death of Tim Watkins to a homicide and they've just told news5 he was shot to death his body found Sunday in the
very place where he loved to ride a lot of questions unanswered tonight so we turn to news 5's Lena Howland live in
Palmer Lake what have you learned Lena in the heart of Palmer Lake this news has everyone on edge here tonight with a
strong warning from the Sheriff's Office to remain vigilant and it's a small town it's you
know you feel safe in a town like this that's why people move here that feeling of safety in the far distance for
Neighbors like David tenise who has lived here in the Palmer Lake area for four years now a little bit scary just
to think about if somebody would Ambush you or um you know who knows what could happen and the kids you know just
playing in the neighborhood in general with that's that's scary to know the body of his friend friendly and
well-known neighbor 6-year-old Tim Watkins was found by a civilian in the Melt Herman area on Sunday morning
search and rescue crews had found his shoe and biked nearby the day before but the search was called off when the sun
went down today though this death investigation upgraded to a homicide it was very surprising especially for an
area like this where everybody walks around and kids bike around all the time and we've never really had to worry
about something like this before now 12-year-old Amelia tenise has taken a break from her bike and a break from
being outside now me and my friends are too afraid to go on bike rides anymore because since nobody was found yet it's
really scary I just think it's really sad and um heartbreaking to hear that cuz that doesn't happen up here very
often at all watkins's body was found in a popular Recreation Area used by a lot of
people our family goes up there with our dog and we take hikes and um it's a beautiful area and our our school does
cross country runs up there so the kids are up there it's a it's a great Trail but sad to know that that could be a
possibility of what happened up there and with no suspects right now the sheriff's office is asking the community
to remain on higher alert if they see anything out of the ordinary to please give the Sheriff's Office a call no tip
is too small even if you think it is irrelevant please let us decide that again the Sheriff's Office says
vigilance is key here if you see anything suspicious or out of the ordinary in your neighborhood you are
asked to contact them right away again there is no suspect information at this time for now watching out for you in
Palmer Lake Lena howlands news5 Lena thanks and friends of his turned out at the Red Rocks open space tonight for a
final ride for Tim as they called it a mechanic by trade but described by his friends as a great guy vibrant
personality someone who would do anything for you and one of his closest friends recalled
for us the last conversation he had with Tim we were planning to do a ride one of
his favorite rides it's called the airplane ride and actually rides up limbo Canyon towards a old wrecked
airplane and unfortunately we never made that happen and just kind of reminded me
when to make plans with someone that's important just do it while you can her thoughts with Tim's family and
friends tonight during this difficult time we will continue to track the investigation bring you updates on air
and online at koa.com this week we are discussing an unsolved case and we will be talking about a man
named Tim Watkins now each week we take on a new case and in doing so essentially we are taking a a glimpse
into someone's life their family's lives as well as friends in the community this
week when looking into Tim Watkins life and learning about him I learned had I lived in that area in Palmer Lake
Colorado I feel like Tim would have been a guy that I would have liked and found
quite interesting I'm always intrigued by people that are pretty hardcore into their Hobbies yeah and Tim was 60 but he
did not look 60 at all he looked easily in his 40s yes and extremely physically fit mhm now the day in question it was a
warm Thursday morning in September when Tim Watkins as you said age 60 he sets out on his regular ride in Palmer Lake
Colorado Palmer Lake and its nearby town of Monument are about 20 mi outside of Colorado Springs it's a conservative
military oriented city that is home to a US Air Force Academy to say that Tim was
an experienced mountain biker is like saying Tom Brady played a little football yeah yeah Tim's life was
mountain biking at one time Tim owned and operated a well-known bike shop in the area and he actually helped to
create and maintain the bike trail Network that carved through the rugged hilly terrain of Mount Herman connecting
Monument Palmer Lake and the surrounding woodlands and canyons Tim and his buddies even fell trees to create
makeshift bike bridges over Monument Creek Tim was the person responsible for drawing the most popular map of the bike
trail Network and some Trails bore his name Tim and his wife lived just a few blocks from the trail Network that
crisscross Pike and San Isabel National Force on this day Tim set out up the steady ascending Mount Herman Road which
is not a paved highway but an unpaved two-lane track now we know which way he went because at some point on Mount
Herman Road in the Hills above Monument Tim's phone butt dialed a friend and Tim
had to stop his ride and say hello this is the last known conversation anyone had with Tim Watkins so who is Tim
Watkins well Tim was born on November 17th 1956 in Fort Collins Colorado and moved to Palmer Lake when he was very
young as a kid he raced around his hometown on his dad's black relay 3 speed at College he earned a degree in
education afterward he worked in the ski patrol Tim loved Adventure he loved everything outdoors he spent a lot of
time learning survival skills hunting and fishing most of these skills he learned from his father Virgil Tim and
his first wife had two kids together and they they had their kids when they were
quite young Ariel and Isaac were very close to their father even though Tim and his first wife divorce back in
1993 Tim started his bike shop Balanced Rock Bike and Ski in Monument around the
year 2000 with his second wife and he ran it for several years but he was a bike guy not a businessman so the shop
eventually closed and Tim and his wife divorced Tim's income from that point on was comprised of money he made working
in other bike shops in the area and he worked for a Time for the school district with special needs children Tim
knew his third wife Ginger who was 10 years younger than him since they were kids growing up in Palmer Lake but Tim
didn't pay any attention to her until much later when as an adult Ginger walked into a bike shop he was working
in with a Colorado built Performance Bike called a Yeti Yeah Tim and ginger are going to get married in
2015 together they loved to Camp Bike and Ski Tim was a a tall lanky curly-haired redhead he was known for
being a great caring friendly guy he had a naughty sense of humor and he loved to
have fun now Tim was in a very bad accident in 1987 that left his feet and ankles mangled this meant he no longer
could run or hike so biking became an outlet for his energy and turned into his passion Tim was very involved in his
church and had an affinity for Native American traditions and rituals and he loved to work with leather and Beads and
make jewelry and other artwork for his friends Tim lived outside as much as possible he would often sleep in tents I
mean this guy really did as much as he could in The Great Outdoors yeah if you have any outdoorsy friend of yours this
is kind of how they they operate I had a buddy one time that stayed in a teepee for a whole week because he thought it
would be a little more fun and staying in the cabin in September of 2017 Tim and ginger were having some problems
they loved each other but Tim's lack of steady income caused tension in the marriage so we have Tim who seems to
always be chin deep in something that he loves mountain biking but then you have
his wife Ginger who is working six days a week and putting in long hours each day as a medical imaging technician
right in recent weeks she told Tim that she needed a break and she actually asked him to move out for a while Tim
took to sleeping in his car at various Trail heads and living in a tent Tim at some point told his son Isaac that he
was very depressed and that if it weren't for his kids he might contemplate suicide Tim was also suffering from
memory loss that was getting worse and worse and this was very frustrating for him for those of you who've watched
season 3 of True Detective if you know what we're talking about here mhm on the day before he disappeared Tim asked
Ginger if he could come home see the next day was her birthday and he wanted to spend that day with her Ginger said
yes and he spent the night at the couple's house the two made plans to celebrate their upcoming anniversary
which I believe was just a few days after her birthday the next morning Thursday September 14th Ginger left for
work and Tim set out we believe around around 10:30 a.m. on a bike ride he had the single phone conversation around
11:00 a.m. with the friend that he accidentally called and after that no one heard from him now Ginger returned
from work around 8:30 p.m. expecting a small birthday celebration with her husband she noticed that Tim and his
bike were gone but his car was in the driveway now knowing that Tim would not be he still wouldn't be writing at this
time because he had notoriously bad night vision right so she text him but she gets no
response assuming he was with his either his parents or his son Ginger fell asleep you know mind you she's just put
in a very long day at work right she woke up at 6:00 a.m. the next morning to find that Tim was still unheard
from after sending yet another unanswered text she left for work around 10:00 a.m. she called the Oldtown Bike
Shop in Colorado Springs to see if Tim had showed up for work he had not Ginger knew that this was extremely
unlike Tim a few hours later Isaac Watkins called asking if she knew where his dad was now Ginger began to be very
worried at this point mm she called The Palmer Lake Police Department but was told by Chief Jason
Vanderpool that Tim's disappearance didn't rise to the criteria for a missing person's report until Saturday
after 48 Hours had elapsed right a grown man goes off on his own and he's riding
his bike we don't know where he's going maybe he wanted it to be missing yeah and you know what if if the
police chief is getting the full story when she calls in panicking saying hey I haven't seen my husband in quite some
time right if he knows that the marriage was having some issues mhm and ALS so if
he knows that Tim is an outdoor guy who has been known especially in the past few weeks to sleep in his car or sleep
in a tent this is not really going to I have to agree with the chief here this doesn't really rise to the criteria of
we should panic and this is a missing person but the red flag for me would be the memory loss yes and and very true
and but if that is not played heavily onto the the chief than was he supposed to do right right well Ginger and Isaac
they were not going to stop looking for their you know Ginger's husband and Isaac's father and actually Isaac began
searching the hills above Palmer Lake this is where he thought his father had likely gone by himself Isaac worried
that his father may have actually carried through on his thoughts of suicide remember they had this
conversation at some point on Saturday Ginger made a public plea on Facebook to help find Tim pretty much everyone in
the area and certainly everyone even remotely connected to the biking Community they knew and they liked him
so 60 people gathered at the Palmer Lake Town Hall and organized grid searches among the network of trails from there
11 private search parties set out Fanning out over several square miles of forest and around 2:00 p.m. one of the
Searchers is is going to find a shoe yeah this is near the entrance to the popular limo Trail which leads into
limbo Canyon one of Tim's favorite places to ride and a trail that he helped construct the shoe was found on
the side of Mount Herman Road near a beer can and it was Tim's size the shoe found was a size 42 Pearl isumi bike
shoe and I apologize to the bike Enthusiast if I mispronounced that that brand name
it's the kind of shoe that clips into the bike pedals yeah so for those who don't know these are special shoes
designed to help the rider rotate the pedals more efficiently while the shoes fastened to the pedals they aren't
designed for actual walking no these would be very difficult to walk in but what I could find
definitively was that for Tim it's beli for Tim who had disfigured feet because of the accident walking in the shoe
would have been preferable to attempting to walk or run in his bare feet okay so
finding the shoe is is not a great sign later other volunteers spotted some items scattered up near Mount Herman
Road about a half mile Northwest from the shoe these were some of the contents of
Tim's wallet specifically his Safeway card some of his other cards and his cell phone
case these were found past limbal trail head heading away from Palmer Lake then another team spotted Tim's Bike off a
trail this titanium bike was specifically designed for Tim by his longtime friend Jeff Tessier right but a
lot of people that are really deep into this hobby will have a custom bike just for themselves yes and and this one was
unique as it was custom built for Tim Watkins it was immediately recognizable to those who knew Tim so so I mean the
people that knew him immediately they spot the bike and they're like that's Tim's Bike there's no question and this
would have raised alarms big time if anyone else would have been spotted riding this bike or attempting to sell
it at any point the bike was located it was about a quar mile north of where the
limbo Canyon Trail breaks off from Mount Herman Road 50 ft uphill from the forest
service Trail this is not an area that is accessible to cars the bike didn't provide any answers though it was laid
down on its side next to a tree now it could have been placed there or it could have fallen there but the bike did have
a flat tire and the gearing suggested that Tim was going downhill when he stopped riding the bike after the bike
was located law enforcement began searching for Tim the Assumption was that Tim was injured somewhere
possibly due to a bike accident or even an animal attack in fact Tim once had a very close runin with a mountain lion
and there are bears in this area El Paso County search and rescue used blood hounds to comb the area for
Tim sent a local group of drone operators pitched in providing aerial footage through Saturday night Searchers
and volunteers found nothing else so well over 48 hours since anyone has last seen or spoke to Tim well I I mean
you're actually over the 60h hour mark by this point right and now we have found Tim's Bike and a lot of his
belongings but still no Tim yeah not good the next day on Sunday around 11:45 a.m. Tim was found dead they found the
body not 50 ft from where his bike was found and 40 yard west of the mouth of the limbo Canyon Trail initially
searchers missed finding him they were in that area Tim's body was found lying in a shallow 4tx 3T old mineral
prospector's hole and his body was kind of covered up with branches and leaves Tim's body was deliberately obscured one
of the Searchers said quote hold on so what you're saying is 50 yards from his bike where they're searching mhm they
find Tim basically in a hole mhm a Nature Made hole but covered up well a prospector's hole okay so a mineral
prospector's hole this is a shallow hole that that somebody would have used to to
try to find something you know some type of mineral maybe be it gold or or any other type of mineral right so he's he's
in this hole but it looks like somebody covered him up that he wasn't covered up
just by the elements no cuz the way that this is stated is he's covered with branches and Le leaves and the people
that were there at the scene they state that he was deliberately obscured that it wasn't like these branches and leaves
just happen to fall yeah on top of him it looked like somebody had placed them there and one of the Searchers said in
regards to where Tim was found he said quote literally we could have walked on top of Tim yesterday that's how close we
were to where his body was so when they say deliberately obscured these people I
mean they're outside looking for some of them are friends with Tim they're outside looking for their friend he must
have been covered up pretty well yeah is what I'm guessing so we talked about Tim's items and belongings that were
found by Searchers now let's talk about what items of Tims that were not found and this was Tim's hydration pack his
jacket his helmet his phone and his socks in one of his shoes remember only one shoe was found we
don't know about the cycling gloves and I threw this in here because based off of photos that I could find it seems
like Tim usually wore gloves and that seems to be a pretty common thing right but none of the articles ever mention
whether the gloves were found or not found right Tim's backpack was still on him containing a single banana it's
actually believed that uh that would lead to some kind of indication of leading you to to a better time frame of
whatever happened when it happened because he would he would have stopped for a snack at some point on this trip
but he did not as it was found still in his backpack now the area where his body
lay was wooded uh hard to get to and had no cell service so how did Tim die at first police did not not publicly reveal
the cause of death leaving the town's people to speculate and leading to rumors and gossip
spreading stories circulated about animal attacks and car versus bike collisions in fact Tim's autopsy results
have never been released despite a lawsuit brought by the Colorado Springs Gazette seeking their
unsealing so we don't know any details as to specific injuries Tim Might have sustained but we do know something very
important Tim Watkins was shot police on the scene discovered that Tim's beloved
mountain bike had a flat tire right it had been shot through by a bullet now cbs's Denver station reported on
September 19th that Tim had been shot quote several times other news sources stated it was quote multiple times
outside online magazine reported the following in November of 2018 according to sources familiar with
the investigation Watkins had been shot in three places and buried beneath logs and branches in a shallow depression 40
yards west of the limbal cannon Trail bullets had grazed his ear and injured his hand the likely fatal shot
from a 22 caliber entered near his ribs and never exited closer examination of his front Tire later revealed that it
had also been shot Watkins is the first mountain biker known to have been murdered during a ride and again that's
from outside online magazine yeah which raises even more questions additionally there was a long story in The Gazette
about the case where they interviewed a friend of Tim's who observed his body and describes it as quote pockmarked
with bullet holes but the El Paso County Sheriff has never confirmed the number of bullet holes or that a 22 was used
right the bullet that went into Tim's torso was removed and examined for potential ballistics matches but it was
determined that the bullet was too mangled to be usable for these type of tests and of course since the shooting
occurred in The Great Outdoors it's it was difficult if not impossible for investigators to find any shell casings
now if they did find any casings they aren't telling us but what investigate saw the shotout bike tire the
bullet-ridden body hidden in a depression and covered with foliage was enough for Tim Watkins death to be
declared a homicide the hiking biking camping and generally outdoorsy Community around Mount Herman was
shocked and terrified by the news that one of their own had been mowed down while doing what they loved riding his
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that all right we're back Cheers matate Cheers Captain it's very important in this case to discuss the location of
where Tim's body was found and the the setting in general so Mount Herman is on the outskirts of Colorado Springs it's a
very big hunting and gun community most people in the area own guns and open air
sport shooting at makeshift ranges was rampant and completely unregulated as a result bullets were
whizzing around in the air in public Recreation spaces locals voiced concern that accidental shootings were
inevitable in this kind of situation Tim and his son like many in the area had firsthand experiences with
this for example about 10 years before Tim was killed Tim and Isaac were backpacking and suddenly bullets
whistled by Isaac's head and ricocheted off of a boulder near misses like this were fairly common other mountain bikers
told stories of bullets hitting the trail in front of them as they navigated a narrow mountain bike trail right so
then you start wondering in this case is he accidentally hit by a bullet and then do
they try to cover it up or or as he hit where he's injured badly and then they you know come up upon him and his
life and then try to move him out of the way so he's not found yeah it's pretty interesting well
this is all going to lead to them trying to put an end to some of this just you know people shooting their guns off out
in these these Recreation spaces and there's another story um that I came across this one from 2014 when a couple
reported that while they were out picnicking their jeep was hit with gunfire So Stories like this about close
calls with unregulated gunfire they did cause the forest service to finally ban recreational shooting in the Mount
Herman area this took place later in 2014 the ban cited weekly complaints of bullets barely missing people and 911
reports of Trail users being pinned down by gunfire according to outside online magazine within days of the Ban's
implementation signs announcing it was announcing the ban were peppered by gunfire likely from protesting Shooters
right within Weeks Forest Service Personnel issued about 80 warnings to people found shooting in defiance of the
ban yeah this is this is strange to me because anybody that I know that owns a gun they're very responsible with their
guns mhm and they would not be shooting in areas that somebody could accidentally get hit well while some in
the area say that the band did cut down on random shooting others say it largely
went unheated and unenforced one state senator who was a friend of Tim's describes biking with
his sons and seeing a dad and his kids shooting right at a no shooting sign and menacing him and his sons when he
reminded them of the ban and in 2015 a 60-year-old grandfather named Glenn Martin was killed by an errant bullet
while camping with his family roughly 20 miles from where Watkins was shot Martin's killer has never been
found Tim's friends and family say that while he was not confrontational and was always friendly
he often stopped and asked people firing their guns to be more cautious warning them that they you know they're biking
and their hiking trails in their bullets range one riding partner friend of Tims
said quote I witnessed him with a shooter multiple times he was very friendly he wrote up and said hey guys
I'm not against shooting or anything but I just want to let you know that there's
a trail right down below where your bullets are going usually according to this person
they'd say oh okay I didn't realize there's a trail down there and we'll make sure that we're shooting
into a back stop right one of Tim's favorite spots to bike to on his mountain biking excursions is called
Shooters Alley which is a popular popular shooting site dotted with shot up tattered stuffed animals shredded
trees and what's left of paper targets from Shooters Alley a mountain bike trail leads downhill into a four-way
Trail intersection with Trail 750 this is near where Tim's body was found so while Tim had no known enemies his
family believed it is possible that Tim had approached the wrong person with his
simple request to stop shooting and then had been shot the fact that Tim was shot
at least three times according to Media reports anyway and his bike tire also shot this ruled out an accidental
shooting in the minds of most people right like you said it could have been accidental in the beginning but that's
not how it ended right there were other dangers in the woods of Mount Herman other than haphazard shooting Colorado
legalized marijuana in 2012 and I mean whether it's a direct result or coincidentally the number of homeless
transient and Drifters who descended on the unsettled areas of the state skyrocketed news articles started to
crop up about the homeless and transient Drifter problem doubling to quadrupling
as outside online magazine described the setting Mount Herman had long been known
for its Backcountry conflicts Bullets whizzed Over makeshift shooting ranges reports of drinking and drug use were
common creating a sense of Menace as drivers whipped around blind curves even if the sound of gunshots have quieted
the sight of homeless camps have created their own tension mountain bikers complain of abandoned camps resembling
landfills and of eroding sense of safety as the area's homeless population grows
some say enforcement of the forest Services ban on living in National Forest land is lacking as is ticketing
for campers who remain in one place longer than two weeks so Tim was all too aware of the
destruction caused by these illegal activities he was one of the people who took it upon themselves to clean up the
broken TVs old couches and other trash left behind by the homeless yeah who lived in the campsites illegally and
human waste was a problem as well as these camps were not often near sanitary facilities and often these homeless
encampments would be littered with used needles Tim's family said that Tim was not one to take violations of the law
dangerous behavior and destroying of his his beloved natural environment lightly
yeah if he saw cars driving recklessly close to cyclist on Mount Herman Road he'd be likely to flip them the bird or
shout something he probably would have said something to Campers or homeless who were littering right so now we have
the idea that possibly you got an accidental shooting that then becomes not accidental or the idea that that
somebody is shooting onto a trail and Tim stops and says hey guys don't shoot on this Trail and then it turns bad we
have this other layer of somebody s squading in that area doing something strange and he stops to tell tell them
not to do that yeah yeah well and there's this very strange twist to the Tim Watkins case several Searchers
volunteering in the hunt for Tim Watkins noticed a beat up red car with Indiana plates slowly and repeatedly driving
past various search areas along Mount Herman Road as if the driver was there to take a closer look or to see what's
going on right one of the Searchers snapped a photo of the red sedan driving past the turnout at limbal Canyon near
where Tim's body was ultimately found the Searcher said he became suspicious when the car drove by more
than once well also a little more suspicious because like you said it has Indiana license plates and they're in
Colorado mhm well they quickly forgot about the incident this being in the wake of finding and discovering Tim's
body but within days reports circulated that a man was threatening people with a
hatchet on the trails near where Tim was found on September 25th police in Woodland Park which is 20 mi down Mount
Herman Road from Monument announced an arrest of a transient police spotted a vehicle the vehicle that we just
discussed which matched the description of the one driven by the hatchet man they saw this vehicle in an Arby's
parking lot they waited to see who got into the car and then pulled the car over for expired Indiana plates and a
broken tail light driving the red Chevy Prism was a 31-year-old man named Daniel
Nations they arrested him for quote unrelated weapons charges but Mount Herman residents took notice when the
Sheriff's Office also charged nations with felony menacing according to the arrest affid David Nations accosted and
threatened a passing dirt biker with a hatchet at his campsite on Mount Herman Road after placing logs in the road that
forced the rider to stop Nations blocked off the road with logs seized a hatchet
and brandished it at the dirt bike rider saying his bike was too loud the rider turned around and sped away and reported
the incident officers searched nation's car and found a hatchet and a 22 caliber
rifle possibly the same caliber bullet that killed Tim Watkins although this has
never been confirmed by law enforcement right in addition to these formal charges it seems that there were several
other reports of threatened violence and menacing against Daniel Nations for example detective Jason Darby of El Paso
County Sheriff's Office told outside online magazine that Nations acted aggressively during a road rage incident
in Monument around the same time Nations got out of his vehicle confronted another driver and ended up kicking and
breaking their windshield they added that the incident escalated very quickly in addition the media reported that
several complaints had been filed about a man menacing mountain bikers with a hatchet one friend of Tim's posted on a
mountain biking Forum that his son and some of his mountain biking buddies encountered a beat up red four-door
sedan in the road that drove off the road into the bushes and when they stopped to see if the driver was okay he
came out at them with a hatchet they reported the incident to the sheriff now nation's wife and two young children
were with him at the time of his arrest and a background check on Nations revealed that he had a criminal
background including felony convictions for domestic battery in front of a child
and a sexual offense both both in Morgan County Indiana Nations also has convictions for
indecent exposure and had habitual drunk driving in South Carolina the report also notes that
Nations was charged multiple times with domestic violence because of his felony history Nations cannot legally own a
firearm but he seems to be in possession of one right I mean this there's so many
red flags here not to mention that he's waving a hatchet around to bikers on on a bike path mhm so police also charged
him with felony possession of a firearm and since the threats against hikers and
bikers took place in El Paso County Police there charged him with felony menacing reckless endangerment assault
and trespassing finally on October 10th final charges on suspicion of failing to
register as a sex offender were filed against Daniel Nations well and he's checking a lot of boxes so one we have
this guy that that obviously something's wrong with him mentally we have something happening with him as far as
being a sex offender he's from Indiana he is attacking people on these hiking trails in the nature or
threatening to attack people right but I mean look if you set up logs so somebody
has to stop so you can't conf front of him that's we're getting dangerous here he has a gun on him this guy has a
history and we have a case that's happening back in Indiana with two dead girls and he kind
of looks like the composite drawing MH yeah that's what's weird about this portion of the Watkins case because
initially when Nations is picked up he he's actually picked up on possible suspicion of some kind of involvement in
the Tim Watkins murder case and then that quickly leads to the suspicion that he could be could have been involved in
another much more prominent case as you know his mugshot is circulated from being picked up in Colorado and then in
the minds of many who see his mug shot say that he resembled a wanted suspect and resembled the composite sketch from
the unsolved double homicide case known as the deli murders case in Indiana now Nations recently lived in Indiana and
and of course we covered the February 2017 Deli murders case back in May of 2017 in episodes 110 and
111 it seems so far ago it does seem a very long time ago so what do we know that could possibly tie Daniel Nations
to that of the deli murders right the murders of uh two young girls Libby and Abby so for one thing it's his last
known address in Indiana it it is not far from where the girls were found about 60 M the girls were taken on a
trail used for hiking and biking similar to the case with Tim Watkins and the people Nations threatened with his
Hatchet Libby and Abby and Tim were all found in relatively inaccessible areas located off trails the creek Ravine for
the girls and the canyon for Tim now the cause of death in Liberty germains and Abigail William case has never been
officially released we don't know if they were shot or whether a hatchet might have been involved but whatever it
is or whatever it was in combination with the mugshot composite similarities of Daniel nation's former residents in
Indiana and a criminal history it was enough to make investigators in the deli murders fly to Colorado to interview
Daniel Nations it emerged in the media that Indian State Police had actually been
looking for nations in connection possibly in connection with the deli case starting around July of
2017 when it was noted that Nations had failed to check in as a sex offender in Carrol County for more than two months
so he left for Colorado in May and failed to notify anyone that he was leaving the state of
Indiana in response to all the tips that the Indiana State Police received about
Daniel n based on his mug shot they released the following statement we are aware of the arrest of the person in
Colorado and are investigating to see if he could be a suspect in the deli double
murder investigation please keep in mind the Indiana State Police has received more
than a thousand photos of persons alleged to be similar in appearance to the composite sketch of the deli Person
of Interest right each and every one of these tips are investigated for any potential connection to our case we will
give the same attention to the person arrested in Colorado but right now there is nothing that definitively connects
this person to our investigation all right so just looking at the picture of Daniels the composite drawing what's
your initial thoughts on that um you know I think the way that I said this before when we've discussed it on off
the Record is I feel like the close-up mug shot of Daniel Nations does look to me like the composite sketch there are
some similarities there however I don't know that he when in comparison to the the picture of the bridge guy which is
ultimately what they're going to use to form their composite sketch of I think he resembles the sketch but I
don't think he resembles the picture of the bridge guy does that make sense is that yeah yeah okay and I would agree I
mean it seems like his build because Daniel wasn't as big of a guy but again it's a picture from Snapchat
that we don't really know like it's on a bridge so it's really hard to tell is is
is is this person tall are they short it's really hard to determine but I agree I think the build doesn't match
Daniels yeah and you know what I did come across his physical description somewhere of Daniel Nations and um I'll
continue to look through my notes I'm looking to see if I can find that but right um but I his his mug shot if if I
remember correctly his mug shot is a little deceiving I actually think he might be he he was a little heavier than
I expected right in the weight Department um but the the bridge guy now mind you the bridge guy could be wearing
multiple layers of of clothing and jackets yeah and that's one thing that's very difficult to discern about the
bridge guy is his weight is his build I think it's easier to pick out his height
because you have the you know you have him walking on the bridge you have those rails and um that he's walking on the
most difficult thing about this case as far as the deli case goes is there's so much speculation on what they have that
they have a picture of him that they have more pictures of the the suspect that they have audio that they have
maybe video that there's possible DNA and we keep having these guys become suspects and then being ruled out and
you don't know what is happening with that and we were just talking earlier they had a press conference where they
basically were saying like we don't have much new to share but we want to keep this in the spotlight and people talking
about this and they've had I think over 35 or 38,000 tips yeah that's a lot of tips
yeah the I mean the country really came together I mean not just Indiana super big time in Indiana but you know you and
I remember when this was going on and as the news was breaking it seemed to go National very quickly after the deli
case right and it seemed like everywhere people were were flooding police with these tips well like you said there was
a thousand side-by-side photos that were probably given to law enforcement where
it's hey my neighbor kind of looks like this guy hey there's this Reg sex offender that kind of looks like this
guy hey here's a guy that I found on Facebook that kind of looks like this guy and other than that it was just this
guy kind of looks like the drawing but you have to have more than that what what's the criminal history right and
it's it's so much that but also the suspicion here would be you know so many times when we talk about profiles being
released of the suspected offender in a case be it a serial killer be it a one-off murder be it something as
horrible and polarizing as the deli murders case they often state that they would believe that there would be a huge
change in Behavior by this person and they tell the public keep an eye out for that well in this
scenario we have a guy that fled the whole state of Indiana yeah I mean that wouldn't be outside of the box of what
they're what might be looking for you know they they referenced so many times you might want to question somebody who
had recently sold a vehicle or recently changed certain habits or changed their facial you know their appearance but
this guy he doesn't not look like the composite and he it's known that he fled the state of
Indiana just within months after the murders well and he didn't flee the state and just went into hiding is
now having these acts of violence onto other people the spokesperson Jackie Kirby with the El Paso County Sheriff's
Office admitted quote many similarities in the Watkins case and the deli murders
and was not denying a possible connection she said police in Indiana have requested no further information be
released to the public quote they have asked us not to speak on their case so I am not at Liberty to elaborate on
anything that's related to what happened in Indiana said Kirby the Indiana State
Police investigators left Colorado without charging Daniel nations in the deli murder
case all right we got so much more to get to in Tim Walkins case please won't you join us tomorrow back here in the
garage until then be good be kind and don't [Music] [Applause] litter you can live out your Master Chef
dreams when you find a professional on Angie to tackle your dream kitchen remodel connect with skilled
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Tim Watkins /// Part 1 /// 284

Part 1 of 2

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Millions of people all over the world enjoy their hobbies, an activity that brings us enjoyment. For Tim Watkins it was hitting the trails on his custom built Mountain Bike. Tim was addicted to his bike and addicted to the scenic trails of Colorado. But all of this was shattered by a brutal and senseless murder. A suspect would emerge, one possibly linked to a much more infamous crime - the Delphi Murders. Could the two killers be one and the same? This week we discuss the case of Tim Watkins. Beer of the Week - Intergalactic Juice Hunter by Odd13 Brewing Garage Grade - 4 out of 5 bottle caps

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Brief Summary

Tim Watkins was murdered while biking in Palmer Lake, Colorado, raising community safety concerns and leading to an ongoing investigation.

Key points

Tim Watkins Homicide Investigation. Local cyclist Tim Watkins was found dead, leading to a homicide investigation.
Community Vigilance Urged. Sheriff's Office warns residents to remain vigilant after the homicide.
Tim's Last Ride. Tim's disappearance during a bike ride raises concerns among family and friends.
Tim's Body Discovered. Searchers reflect on how close they were to finding Tim's body before it was discovered.
Shocking Cause of Death. Tim Watkins was found to have been shot, raising many questions about his death.
Community in Shock. The outdoorsy community around Mount Herman reacts to the news of Tim's murder.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This news has everyone on edge here tonight.

Reporter discussing the local reaction to the homicide.

4:22WatchNov 16, 2023

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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