A 19-year-old woman who apparently was sleepwalking when she disappeared from her Arvada home early Tuesday awoke nine miles away in Westminster with no shoes on, authorities say.
Taylor Gammel, who lives in the 5600 block of Fig Court in Arvada, told police that she awoke in sight of the AMC Westminster Promenade 24 Theater, 10655 Westminster Blvd., near her uncle’s house.
A few mysteries may never be clarified because Gammel, who has a history of sleep walking, doesn’t know what happened herself.
At least one witness suggests she may have caught a bus and rode in the bus while still in her sleepwalking state, said Mark Techmeyer, spokesman for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
Gammel’s father began looking for his daughter at 6 a.m. when he found the back door to their house open. His daughter wasn’t anywhere in the house.
He called 911 at 6:18 a.m. A three-hour, wide-scale search ensued.
A bloodhound was soon on her trail and following her scent to a 7-Eleven near 58th Avenue and Ward Road, where the dog lost her scent.
At 8 a.m., a passerby spotted Gammel sitting at a bus stop next to the 7-Eleven. The witness called authorities after seeing news bulletins about Gammel’s disappearance.
Gammel doesn’t recall whether she boarded a bus, but she didn’t have any money to pay bus fare, she later told authorities.
“She came out of her state of sleepwalking on a Westminster street,” Techmeyer said. “She saw the Promenade Theater, knew that it was near her uncle’s house.”
Gammel walked to her uncle’s house in the 6500 block of 96th Place, opened the door, walked in and fell asleep on the couch as the search for her whereabouts was ongoing.
Her relatives found her on the couch at 9 a.m. and called police.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206, kmitchell@denverpost.com or @kirkmitchell or
