Missing case 'suspicious'/ Police still search for Broadmoor resident

Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Nov 10, 2001 by Barry Noreen

The last any of his Broadmoor neighbors saw him, J.D. Ferguson was walking down his driveway Monday evening, carrying what was thought to be a pillow and a radio while another man waited for him.

When last seen by a neighbor, the 83-year-old Ferguson apparently was on his way to visit his wife, Doreen, who was on her deathbed a short distance away at Brighton Gardens, a nursing home where she had lived for more than two years. No one has seen J.D. Ferguson since.

Doreen Ferguson, 87, who reportedly had suffered a series of strokes in recent years, died Wednesday.

Detective Derek Graham of the Colorado Springs Police Department confirmed that Ferguson visited his wife Monday.

"We really do believe there is something very suspicious about his disappearance," Graham said, adding that the timing of the wife's death and the disappearance of the husband are coincidental.

Graham declined to say whether there are any suspects.

On Friday, there was no yellow crime-scene tape around the Fergusons' red-brick home in the 130 block of Cresta Drive, which is lined in front by towering blue spruce trees a short distance northeast from The Broadmoor hotel.

Graham would not comment on whether the home is being viewed as a crime scene. He said only, "We have concluded our investigation at the house."

One neighbor saw J.D. Ferguson's car being towed away after police investigated the scene, but Graham declined to confirm that.

Graham also would not discuss whether the car was searched or whether the fact that it was still at the house is the reason police think foul play was involved.

Neighbors say in spite of his age and the fact that he uses a cane, Ferguson is robust for his years, still able to cook and take care of himself.

Neighbors didn't know the Fergusons well, but one neighbor said "he drove a lot and he walked with a cane. He didn't seem senile. He got around pretty well."

The neighbors did not want to be identified.

Ferguson's son, Harley Ferguson of Colorado Springs, declined to comment, saying police advised him not to talk to the media.