The mother of a Manitou Springs woman found dead in the snow Wednesday morning doesn’t know why her daughter would have run barefoot into the cold night by herself, and she says others who knew her agree.
Preliminary autopsy reports released by the El Paso County coroner’s office on Saturday indicate that Mindy L. Lee, a 33-year-old mother of two, likely died of hypothermia. El Paso County is contracted to perform autopsies for the Teller County coroner’s office.
“I know — and other people who knew her said — it was impossible. Impossible for her to do that,” said Lee’s mother, 57-year-old Vicki White, of the report that Lee walked off into the darkness on her own.
She added that Lee’s daughters, ages 4 and 14, were “glued” to their mother.
Police said Lee disappeared the night of Nov. 26 after walking away from friends near Woodland Park High School, about 20 miles northwest of Colorado Springs.
The friends tried to follow her but lost her in the dark, according to police. Search efforts the following day yielded no sign of Lee.
White said that she received a confused phone call from Lee about two hours before Lee’s disappearance and that she didn’t believe that Lee simply walked into the night with no shoes on, as police said Lee’s companions claimed.
White said Lee’s feet were unmarked and didn’t look like the feet of someone who ran through rough terrain barefoot.
“I believe that if somebody was involved, they will be judged,” she said.
She expressed gratitude for the coroner’s office and the closure of finding Lee’s remains.
“The only thing that gives me peace today is that I have her body back,” White said. “It’s better than not knowing.”
White said that Lee would have a funeral in Manitou Springs and would then be interred at Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs, next to a cousin of Lee’s.
Toxicology results from the autopsy are still pending.
Kyle Glazier: 303-954-1638
