An early-morning campground squabble in Douglas County on Saturday erupted into a knife fight that left an 18-year-old man dead and another man critically injured, authorities said.
A third man also was stabbed.
Deputies from Teller and Douglas counties arrested two male suspects, one from Arvada and the other from Greenwood Village, several hours after they fled into the woods at a campground in Rainbow Falls Park north of Woodland Park.
The suspects were linked to a stolen BMW found abandoned near the campsite, said Lt. Alan Stanton, spokesman for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities believe the suspects stole the car, then drove it to the campsite. Their names were not released.
All three victims were from Englewood.
The slain man was identified by authorities as Seth Hunter Payne.
William Russell Mills, 20, was stabbed in the chest and was in stable condition at Penrose Medical Center, Stanton said.
Darius Leon Carey, 18, was stabbed in the upper back but his injuries were not life-threatening, Stanton said, and he was treated at Swedish Medical Center.
Deputies were investigating what provoked the fight.
The three victims were friends who were camping together, and the two suspects were together. Neither group knew each other, Stanton said.
Rick Zook of Colorado Springs also was camping in the area and said he was relieved the suspects had been caught.
“You think you’re getting away from all that stuff in the city,” Zook said.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office was called at 4:21 a.m. about the altercation, Stanton said.
The suspects fled in different directions, Stanton said. The Sheriff’s Office performed a reverse 911 call, warning area residents to stay in their homes and report suspicious activity, but many campers without phones were unaware that the suspects were still on the loose.
“Nobody came down here and said a word (to us),” said Pam Elkins, a camper from Monument. No one from her party of about 25 knew anything about the hom icide until someone happened upon police late Saturday morning. While Elkins said she was relieved the men had been arrested, she felt safe among her companions.
“We’ve got enough men, dogs and firearms, we’re not scared,” she said.
The Douglas County SWAT team arrested one suspect in a field at 9 a.m., Stanton said.
Later in the morning, someone on Painted Rocks Road called authorities and reported that their horses were spooked, possibly by someone in their corral.
Teller County sheriff’s deputies arrested the second man near the home at about 10 a.m.
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-820-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.
