The Summit County Sheriff’s Office last week received multiple reports of fraud calls and assisted with a search and rescue operation. It also recently obtained an arrest warrant for an individual accused of stealing high-end bikes in Summit and Eagle counties.

The following incidents occurred between Monday, Nov. 18, and Saturday, Nov. 23, according to the weekly log of notable calls published by the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.

On Monday, Nov. 18, a Summit County resident received a phone call from someone impersonating a Summit County sergeant. The scammer claimed that there was a warrant out for his arrest and requested a prepaid credit card to take care of the warrant. The man knew the call was a scam and didn’t exchange any money or personal information. There were also two similar scam calls last week, where scammers impersonated law enforcement. In one case, an individual sent the scammer a $100 gift card.

On Tuesday, Nov. 19, a man reported an encounter with two men at a gas station who claimed to be with the Internal Revenue Service and were asking for information. Deputies responded and contacted the two men who provided proper identification and confirmed that they were with the Internal Revenue Service’s Denver office. Nothing criminal was found.

On Wednesday, Nov. 20, deputies received a report of smoke in the Keystone Mountain area. It was determined to be a controlled burn being conducted by the U.S. Forest Service.

On Friday, Nov. 22, a vehicle slid into another vehicle in Wildernest. No one was injured but there it resulted in some damages. The drivers exchanged information and agreed to handle the matter through civil processes. One of the drivers contacted a deputy to report that there was now a dispute over the payment of the damages. Deputies took information from both drivers and created an accident report for the incident.

Also Friday, mutual aid was requested of the Summit County Search and Rescue Group and the Sheriff’s Office’s Special Operations deputies to assist with a search for a missing hiker outside of Hot Sulfur Springs. The hunter was located walking out to his vehicle, uninjured.

On Saturday, Nov. 23, a woman reported that she had a date with a man a year ago who still contacts her from different numbers insisting that she go on another date with him. The woman didn’t want to press charges but wanted, and was given, information about how to obtain a restraining order.

Also Saturday, a hunter on Forest Service land north of Silverthorne was setting up his rifle when another hunter approached and was headed in the direction of his line of fire. The first hunter yelled out to the second hunter to warn her because he was worried about her safety. This led to a verbal argument in which the man setting up his rifle suggested that he shoot his rifle into the air to ruin both of their hunting days by scaring all the elk away. The woman thought that he was threatening to shoot into the air to scare her away. A report was taken and deputies determined nothing criminal had occurred.

In addition to outlining notable calls from the past week, the Summit County Sheriff’s log this week also included entries about new equipment at the jail and a suspect identified in a case related to bike thefts.

Earlier this month, detectives obtained a warrant for the arrest of a suspect on 10 felonies and eight misdemeanors associated with high-end bike theft, according to the Sheriff’s log. Back in August 2022, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office reportedly received multiple reports of high-end bikes that were stolen near Copper Mountain. The Sheriff’s Office said deputies and detectives then worked with Vail Police detectives to identify the suspect and link him to 11 cases in Summit and Eagle counties, with the value of the stolen bikes estimated at more than $50,000.

Also this month, the Summit County jail integrated a new piece of equipment into their mail system called a LIAM Safe, which allows friends and families of incarcerated individuals to send letters and pictures online at a low cost to high-quality printers in the jail. The system reduces the risk to jail staff by limiting exposure to potential contraband sent through the mail, according to the Sheriff’s Office.