6/29/2018 From Page 2
Just a small sample of the incredible amount of broken down vehicles on the victom’s property.
Photo by George Gramlich
by George Gramlich
The Big Horn Ranch subdivision is located in the southern part of Fremont County off Oak Creek Grade (County Road 143). It is quite a large subdivision with small lots and large agricultural lots. About 30 families live there year-round. Most of the residents in Big Horn are retirees. It is about one mile to the Custer County line.
The main (and only) road going into the ranch is Shoshone Drive. About two miles in, there is a road veering off to the north called Chinook Drive. About a half a mile up Chinook is a private drive. On that private drive is Loa Kennedy’s property.
Loa Kennedy was murdered Sunday morning, June 24th on her property. Allegedly, quite brutally.
Lola was a single, older lady, well known in Big Horn Ranch division and in the vicinity of Oak Creek Grade as an extremely charitable person who would let vagrants, ex-convicts and down-and-outs stay on her property. She also was a steady volunteer at Loaves and Fishes in Cañon City.
Loa, some family members, and this motley crew of guests stayed in over 24 dilapidated, garbage-strewn RV’s, fifth wheel trailers, and campers scattered about the large property. Loa was known as an extreme hoarder with many vehicles and trailers being stuffed with essentially useless things.
Observing from a local mountain top, one can see the chaotic setup that also included over 20 vehicles scattered about the place. Loa also had a small free-range herd of animals including a couple of cows and a pig.
Locals have complained about the trash and the “visitors” for a long time. There are many frequent burglaries and thefts in the area. Residents can see flashlights in the hills surrounding Loa’s ranch at night. Basically, Loa’s place was a blight in the Big Horn Ranch.
Last Sunday morning, neighbors, a fair bit away, heard screams and yelling coming from the ranch. One neighbor either received a call from the ranch indicating that Loa had an “accident”, or just decided to go down and see what was going on. That man discovered Loa dead outside her broken-down RV. According to neighbors, she was partially clothed and brutally murdered.
The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office was called and arrived on the scene. Hours later, another neighbor, on the road out of the subdivision, noticed a man in his late 30’s/early 40’s with a black shirt and black jacket walking towards Oak Creek Grade. This neighbor observed that the man acted quite strangely, with jerky arms and head motions. He also was taking his jacket off and on repeatedly. This man then proceeded to walk another 50 yards or so along the road and approached a dumpster that was on the road. The neighbor then observed the man open the dumpster lid and throw an item into it. The neighbor then observed the individual walk another 30 yards where there was a sparsely wooded area along the road. The neighbor then saw the man take off the black jacket and hide it in the woods. Knowing that a possible murder had taken place that morning, this neighbor called Fremont County 911 and related this information to them. It took Fremont Sheriff’s Office over four hours to respond. The neighbor stated that deputies retrieved a pair of shoes from the dumpster and a black jacket from the woods. The neighbor also reported that a grandson of Loa was with the deputies and identified the jacket as belonging to Loa. The deputies then left the neighbor’s property.
As of press time, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office has said a homicide investigation is ongoing and anyone with information about the incident should call 719-275-STOP. There is no indication that anyone has been arrested for the crime.
(Sentinel Staff: Our prayers for Loa, her family and friends. She had a big, big heart and had helped a lot of people. God speed.)
Editors Note: Loa’s Celebration of Life service was held July 15, 2018. As of July 20, Fremont County has not indicated that they have made any progress in this case.