A school-bus driver spotted an oddly shaped clump in a ditch off a dirt road in rural El Paso County this morning, and she pulled over the bus with 16 children on board to investigate.
It was the body of woman without identification who had been shot to death within the past few hours, investigators said.
The driver calmly returned to the bus and “had the presence of mind to pull forward and call authorities,” said Lt. Lari Sevene of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.
The victim had a gunshot wound to the head but may have been shot more than once, Sevene said. She was lying face-down in the ditch.
The students on board — elementary, middle and high school students from the Ellicott School District — got varying looks at the corpse, said superintendent Terry Ebert.
The students met with counselors as soon as they arrived at school, and all their parents were notified immediately, Ebert said.
“I know from my own experience as a kid on a school bus, some were probably socializing with their friends and didn’t see much, if anything,” he said. “But a child sitting alone looking out the window may have seen more.”
Teachers and administrators kept watch on the children all day, among the more than 900 on the campus. The driver was taking care of her afternoon route today, Ebert said.
Sevene said authorities are withholding a description of the woman, except to say she appears to be in her 30s, until an autopsy Tuesday and notification of next of kin, once her identity is determined.
Anyone with information can call the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office at 719-390-5555.
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com
