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The discovery of a badly decomposed body inside a car in Grand County has brought to an end a yearlong search for a man accused of sexually assaulting a child.
A warrant was issued for Kenneth M. Campbell, 43, in September 2018 charging him with sexual assault on a child, in addition to several other associated felonies, after an investigation was initiated by Fraser Winter Park police in August 2018.
On Aug. 20, Campbell’s body was found inside a green Subaru station wagon in “an advanced stage of decomposition,” leading authorities to believe the man died about a year ago.
Because sheriff’s deputies found the Subaru with a hose going from its exhaust pipe into the passenger’s compartment, the manner of death will be listed as suicide.
“Given the trauma he inflicted on his victim, we are saddened that Campbell will not ever be held accountable for his actions through our justice system,” Police Chief Glen Trainor said in a statement. “However, his death also ensures our victim will not have to be re-traumatized through what most likely would have been a very long and drawn out court process.”
Campbell was living in Fraser last fall but disappeared shortly after the investigation. His last known location was in Park County, but neither his friends nor family had heard anything from him, according to police.
With assistance from the U.S. Marshall’s Office, Fraser Winter Park police secured search warrants for Campbell’s phone and social media accounts, but had no luck tracking him down that way.
The area where the car was found was on a dead-end road about four miles past Meadow Creek Reservoir in a remote part of Arapahoe Roosevelt National Forest.
Over the phone, Trainor said the Subaru was hidden off the road, but it wasn’t all that far off the road. He said the car would have been covered in snow throughout the winter, but he’s somewhat curious himself how a car with a body in it goes unnoticed for so long.
“I think that’s the question everyone in law enforcement has right now,” Trainor said.
Inside the car, police found identification documents. Also, the car was registered to Campbell, and the coroner’s office matched tattoos on the body to the man, Trainor said of how police made a positive ID.
Because the body had been there so long, there is no way to perform toxicology tests at this point, Trainor said.
The Grand County Coroner’s Office also responded to the scene along with the East Grand Fire Department.