On a summer evening in the small town of Flagler, Colorado, the life of 42-year-old Mary Louise Schaefer was tragically cut short. On June 3, 2019, deputies from the Kit Carson County Sheriff's Office were called to a residence on Navajo Avenue, where they discovered Schaefer had been fatally shot. Born in Aurora, Illinois, on October 24, 1976, Mary was a mother of five and a grandmother of four who was known for her love of planting flowers and the great outdoors.
The investigation into
her death was a joint effort between the Kit Carson County Sheriff's Office and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Their work quickly led to the identification of a suspect, 63-year-old Michael Crowe. He was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder and taken to the Kit Carson Detention Facility, where he was held without bond.
The investigation by local and state authorities, in conjunction with the 13th Judicial District Attorney's Office, continued after the arrest. Further details regarding the circumstances that led to the shooting were not publicly released. The case remains a somber event in the history of the small eastern Colorado town.
