Maggie Long

 Early on the evening of 1 December 2017, authorities in Colorado were dispatched to a home located in Bailey, Colorado. There, at an isolated home in rural Park County, they came upon an active fire. Despite initial reports that no one was found inside the burning home, that would change in the days to come, as the homeowners attempted to track down their 17-year-old daughter..

Early on the evening of December 1st, 2017, authorities in Colorado were dispatched to a home located in Bailey, a small town roughly 45 miles southwest of Denver. There, at an isolated home in rural Park County, along Deer Creek, they came upon an active fire. A 9-1-1 call made minutes prior said that multiple people were inside the home causing damage; but by the time authorities arrived, the house was on fire, and no suspects were seen.

Fire rescue personnel were brought out to extinguish the blaze, which had been started intentionally. Despite initial reports that no one had been inside at the time the fire was started, that would change in the days to come, as the homeowners attempted to track down their daughter, a 17-year-old that was supposed to have been at a school event that evening but had gone missing earlier that afternoon. To this day, events surrounding her mysterious disappearance and subsequent death remain clouded in mystery.

This is the story of Maggie Long.

Maggie Long was born on December 17th, 1999, as one of at least three daughters and one son born to her parents. Maggie's parents were both of Chinese descent, but had grown up in a Chinese community in North Vietnam, eventually fleeing to the U.S. during the Vietnam War. In the years since, they had settled in the region of Bailey, Colorado, an unincorporated community of roughly 9,000 people in northeastern Park County, located less than an hour southwest of Denver.

Bailey is perhaps most well-known for two or three things, which stand diametrically-opposed to each other in terms of overall tone. The first is a well-known Coney Island Hot Dog Stand located in town, near the entrance to the Pike National Forest, which attracts a lot of regional tourists each year. The second are multiple refences to the town made in the popular show "South Park," which is set in a fictionalized Colorado town nearby.

The third, however, is a violent incident that took place in Bailey, involving an armed gunman named Duane Morrison. In 2006, Morrison took seven female students hostage at Platte Canyon High School, sexually assaulting several and killing one before being shot and killed by police officers at the scene. Sadly, one of Maggie's older sisters, Lynna, was one of the seven students taken captive, but thankfully survived and was unharmed.

There, in Bailey, Maggie's parents were well-known and respected. They owned and operated a handful of Chinese restaurants in the area, as well as a liquor store, and had invested in some local real estate... successfully, mind you. The Long family was rather well-off, and lived in a large home on a large piece of land in a very scenic part of the state. They were also one of the few Asian-American families in the area, but Maggie's sisters never recalled facing much discrimination because of their ethnicity.

As of December 2017, Maggie was 17 years old - due to turn 18 later that month - and was a senior at Platte Canyon High School (the same school attended by her sister a decade prior). She was one of roughly 300 students attending at the time, and was set to graduate the following spring. According to most reports, Maggie was popular amongst the student body, and was involved in a countless number of extracurriculars. As recounted by her older sister Connie to NBC News:

"She was a very involved student. She had so many interests and just loved trying new things and being part of as much of life as she could."

Maggie was regarded by friends and teachers at the school at kind and genuine, but also equally ambitious and "majestic," which had always been one of her favorite words. She took part in many school events, such as live performances, and seemed to have a knack for theater. In addition to performing in many of the school's events, she was also an active member of The Venue Theatre in nearby Conifer.

Shannon Monahan, the mother of Maggie's best friend Katy, told Colorado Public Radio that she spent a lot of time with Maggie because of her friendship with Katy, and felt as though Maggie was a second daughter for her. She stated:

"Maggie had such a huge heart and a wonderful spirit, a wonderful smile. She loved everyone."

On Friday, December 1st, 2017, a concert was being held at Maggie's high school, which she had helped plan. As a member of the local theater department, she had helped arrange for some local bands to play in the event, and was in charge of the "V.I.P. lounge" for the event.

After school got out, Maggie told her friends that she was going to head home to pick up some cookies and water for those attending the event, and also planned to change clothes while she was there. She left the school at around 3:30 PM and began driving home, approximately 11 miles away. However, she would not return when she was scheduled to - an hour or two later - resulting in her friends from the school attempting to reach her via phone.

A little while later, Maggie's older sister Connie left work and arrived at the school to look for Maggie. There, she was greeted by some of Maggie's friends who'd been looking for her, telling NBC News:

"Right away I had a gut feeling. Something wasn't right. Maggie is very responsible and would've never flaked on something like this."

At around the same time that Connie began heading to the family's home, expecting - or hoping - to find Maggie there, a 9-1-1 call was placed from the Long family home. Located north of Bailey itself, in a scenic, rural area along Deer Creek, the property was set several hundred feet back from Deer Creek Road, along County Road 43. The call was placed just after 7:00 PM by a tenant living in the attic of the home, who claimed that there were people downstairs arguing and possibly fighting. He apparently didn't feel safe leaving the attic, and had been texting Connie, Maggie's sister, as the troubling events downstairs unfolded.

By the time Connie arrived at the property a short time later - at approximately 7:20 PM - fire rescue and police personnel had already gathered at the scene. They had arrived shortly after the 9-1-1 call had been placed, responding to a fire that had broken out inside of the home.

Suspiciously, Maggie's vehicle was found at the house... yet there seemed to be no sign of the 17-year-old. Initial reports were that nobody had been found inside of the home, but that would change in the hours and days to come.

In the days that followed, a judge issued a gag order in this case: which so far, featured a mysterious fire and a missing teenager. Maggie Long was believed to be missing, with her disappearing coinciding with the bizarre fire that had broken out at her family's home.

That evening - Friday, December 1st - Maggie's sisters would post on social media that they were looking for Maggie, but had been unable to find her. Police would announce that they were investigating Maggie's communications from after school let out that afternoon, at around 2:30 PM, up until 8:00 that evening, when officers had gained access to the home. Yet, they were frustratingly vague about the other facts of the case, such as whether or not they were actively looking for Maggie and in what way her disappearing was related to the fire.

The fire was investigated as an arson, as it appeared to have been intentionally set in multiple areas. Investigators theorized that it had been set to cover up other crimes committed inside the home, such as robbery. However, the fate of Maggie would remain undetermined for several days, with police not commenting on whether they had recovered any human remains from the scene or were actively searching for her.

On Saturday, December 2nd, Park County Sheriff's officials announced that they were "working a crime scene" off of County Road 43, but that they weren't planning to organize any search parties for the 17-year-old.

On Sunday, December 3rd, the sheriff's office posted a vague message to Facebook, which read:

"Due to the serious nature of this investigation we ask that you keep the Long Family in your prayers. We are not able to release any further information at this time."

Speaking to news station Denver7 that Sunday, Park County Undersheriff Dave Wohlers stated:

"We're not ruling anything in or anything out. We're in full investigative mode. We're as perplexed as anyone. Anything's possible. We're trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle, and the only thing I can say, is it's a work in progress."

Initially, authorities had reported that no human remains were found at the scene. But that changed, when a week later, the Park County Sheriff's Office announced that the remains of 17-year-old Maggie Long had been discovered in the fire at her parent's home, and her death was being investigated as a homicide.

Because of the circumstances at the crime scene, it was believed that an altercation had taken place between Maggie and her assailant(s). However, because this is a case that has remained open and active for the past five years, specific details about the crime and the crime scene have never been released. We would learn some more details about both later on - such as how Maggie was killed - but more specific details remain something known only by police officials and the offender(s).

Maggie's remains were found at the scene on the evening of Friday, December 1st, 2017, but her family wasn't informed about this discovery until hours later (after her sisters had posted about her disappearance on social media). Her remains had been sent for an autopsy, and the coroner's report would remain under seal while the investigation was ongoing, but would officially list her cause-of-death as homicide.

The weekend that this horrible story unfolded - the first weekend of December 2017 - a BOLO alert was issued to the press for a young white male that was likely heavily-armed. This BOLO ("be on the lookout") was issued accidentally, but seemed to be aimed at a possible suspect in this case. The suspect was a white male in his 20s, who had been seen driving a late 90s or early 2000s model minivan that was light in color. The BOLO alert claimed that this individual had possibly suffered some flash burns to his arm or face, but there was no idea how authorities had come to this determination. Later, authorities would claim that the BOLO had been issued in error - it was supposed to have been sent internally to other police agencies in the area - and was rescinded just hours later.

In the days that followed, police would announce that multiple items were missing from the scene, indicating a motive of robbery. The items missing included a 9mm Beretta handgun, an AK-47-styled rifle, 2000 rounds of ammunition, a green gun safe, multiple jade figurines, and gasoline. Almost immediately, it was theorized that Maggie might have arrived home unexpectedly, perhaps interrupting a robbery in progress, and that had resulted in her death.

Police would collect DNA from "specific individuals" that investigators wanted to speak with, which reportedly included family members, friends, and associates of Maggie's family. This was likely done in an effort to eliminate possible matches from evidence left at the scene, although what had been found remains clouded in mystery. One of the men initially suspected of possible involvement was the upstairs tenant, whose 9-1-1 call had drawn police to the scene, but he appears to have been eliminated as a suspect early on.

Months later, FBI officials would state that there was a "high probability" that someone in the community had come into contact with a suspect or someone else involved in her murder. It was theorized that this person might live in the community, and may either be following the case closely in the press or had grown detached from their typical behavior and relationships in the weeks that followed.

Police would later release descriptions of two vehicles sought in connection with the crime: a Chevy Astro van and a Ford Ranger truck. However, they would not reveal how these vehicles were connected to the crime.

Maggie's family would write a letter to the public, which was then shared by a family friend on social media on December 9th, 2017, roughly one week after her death. It read:

"The fear of death takes away the joy of living.

"Our beloved sister, daughter, granddaughter, cousin, niece, friend, and classmate, Maggie was a joy in all our lives. As many of you are aware, on the night of Friday, December 1, 2017, Maggie moved on from this world.

"Our hearts are broken, and this loss has been especially significant knowing the impact that our Maggie had on this small mountain community. We thank everyone in Bailey as well as those in communities near and far that Maggie's life has touched for their support and love shared. Our family continues to work with [the] Park County Sheriff's Office and extended agencies; we want to thank them for their tremendous efforts. We are all committed to seeking justice for Maggie. To the Bailey community, please report any suspicious vehicles, individuals or activities along County Road 43 in Bailey, CO on December 1, 2017 to the investigative tip line at: (303) 239-4243. To those who have respected our privacy and will continue to respect our privacy as we mourn, we are grateful. In the coming days, we will have arrangements for a celebration of life for Maggie and will make announcements as those plans are finalized.

"Thank you everyone for sharing your strength and kind thoughts with us.

"The Long Family"

In the weeks and months to come, the Long family would not only put Maggie to rest, but said goodbye to the region around Bailey. They now live in the Denver area, about an hour away. Maggie's death was their second unfortunate encounter with violent offenders in the region, with Maggie's older sister Lynna having been taken hostage in the 2006 incident at the high school.

While Maggie's siblings struggled to overcome their loss, their parents were forever changed, with Connie Long telling Colorado Public Radio:

"My parents' retirement from the restaurant business was kind of in-the-making, but Maggie's death really catapulted that process. The night that she died, they stopped working and they did not return to the restaurant. It's been a huge change in both of my parents... I don't think they'll ever truly heal from the death of our sister."

In the days that followed this tragic loss in early December 2017, the family was asked to keep quiet by investigators, as they tried to figure out as much about the incident before going public, which they finally did a week later. However, police wouldn't issue a press release in the case until February 2018, roughly six weeks later... when the people they had in mind as possible suspects might have already fled the region, having done everything they could to distance themselves from the events in Bailey, Colorado...

In the year after Maggie's murder, investigators continued to work on the case rather quietly, with police officials not really making any public disclosures until months had passed.

In May of 2018, police announced that Maggie's home had been intentionally targeted by the offender(s), giving credence to what many had been publicly suspecting for roughly six months. However, at the same time, they would also release a sketch of a person possibly connected to the case, who would be referred to as "suspect #1" in the months to come. He was a young white male reportedly seen at the crime scene at the time Maggie Long was killed, but more on him later.

Weeks later, in June of 2018, it was discovered that Park County investigators were looking into a possible connection to a case in Missouri, which bore many similarities. In it, two young male suspects had broken into a house with the intention of stealing firearms, and had set a young woman on fire. However, in that case, the woman had survived, and the suspects were later identified and caught. Links through DNA would prove unsuccessful, indicating that the offenders were not the same, and the vast geographic distance seemed to confirm that.

In the months to come, things would go rather quiet. It wasn't until 2019 that we began to learn more about this tragic story, and the most heinous details were yet to come...

In January of 2019, the Park County Sheriff's Office announced the formation of the Maggie Long Task Force, a collection of law enforcement agents working on her case, which would begin to publish information in the case in the hopes that an added spotlight would expedite the process.

This task force was launched alongside a website of the same name - www.MaggieLongTaskForce.com - which, sadly, seems to have gone inactive in the years since. However, the Task Force itself continues to be active, combining the efforts of the local sheriff's office, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and the Denver Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Late that month, January of 2019, authorities would hold a press conference. During which, they announced this newly-formed task force, and also revealed some new information about the case... much of which had not been made public knowledge as of yet.

As you just heard, authorities released a lot of new information in the press conference, including the morbid detail that Maggie had been burned alive. They also disclosed information about at least two suspects that had been involved in the crime, releasing sketches about the two during the press conference. Details of a third suspect would be released later on, but more on that in a bit.

It was learned that at least one suspect had sustained injuries that night - possibly the suspect from the initial BOLO alert that had sustained flash burns to the face or arms.

Investigators theorized that the suspects had targeted the Long home for robbery, but called the brutal murder of Maggie Long a "crime of opportunity." It was believed that when Maggie had gone home, she had likely interrupted the robbery in progress. But strangely, the suspects had then spent a substantial amount of time in the home, during which time, Maggie was likely held captive. They eventually left, starting the fire that deliberately killed Maggie and caused significant damage to the inside of the home (pictures of which were also shown during the press conference). I hate to give voice to this unfortunate theory, but I can only hope that sexual assault did not play a role in this crime.

Investigators believed that the suspects were likely not citizens of Bailey or the immediate area, but had likely moved even further away in the years since. Since starting the fire that killed Maggie, they had likely changed their appearances and made efforts to distance themselves from the story, such as selling the vehicles they had driven that day as well as the items they had stolen, and had undoubtedly tried to avoid any possible connections to the region since.

Over the next couple of years, members of the Maggie Long Task Force would continue to release information at a trickle. By 2022, investigators had received at least 237 tips in the case, which led them to build a rather-comprehensive case file.

It was believed that at least three men had been directly involved in Maggie's murder, and had likely spent a significant amount of time inside the Long family home with Maggie on December 1st, 2017. She went home at around 3:30 PM, and would have arrived at around 4:00, but the call to 9-1-1 didn't occur until approximately 7:00, so there are roughly three hours unaccounted for... during which time, Maggie was alone with these three men.

Sketches of all three men have been made available, and are currently viewable on the FBI's website. All three appear to be rather nondescript looking, but specific details might help narrow them down.

Suspect #1 appears to be a white male of average build, with short hair, narrow eyes, and large nose, ears, and lips.

Suspect #2 appears to be more unique-looking, with a larger build, messier hair kept somewhat shaggy (underneath a baseball hat in sketch), and has larger, rounder eyes, along with a large, flat-looking nose.

Suspect #3 appears thin, with a long, narrow face. Like Suspect #2, he has shaggy, unkempt-looking hair, with creeps over his ears and down near his eyes. He also has large ears, and a big, protruding chin.

In 2019, on the second anniversary of the crime, authorities with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) released a statement suggesting that a fourth person may have been involved in this crime. They wouldn't release many details about this possible fourth suspect, such as whether they were male or female, but did reveal that they had long hair.

Speaking to The Flume in November of 2019, newly-elected Park County Sheriff Tom McGraw stated:

"I just think that, because of the nature of this crime, these are people who very likely have criminal backgrounds. It takes a certain mentality, and a certain personality type, to commit an act like this. To burn a woman alive is not something many people are capable of doing."

In the years since, police officials have hesitated to say whether or not they continue to put much credence in these sketches, possibly because of potential changes the suspects had made to their appearance. However, authorities have remained optimistic about the crime being solved, with Sheriff McGraw making his belief known during the same interview I quoted from a moment ago;

"Usually, when you have a group of people involved in a crime, someone generally talks, or says something that leads to a break in the case. That's another reason I am optimistic that this will eventually be solved. I am actually sort of surprised that hasn't already happened."

In 2021, it was announced that police had made an arrest in a string of burglaries that had targeted the homes of Asian-American business owners in Colorado and Wyoming between January and July of 2019.

The suspects numbered four in total, including three men and one woman, who had specifically targeted the homes of Asian-American business owners, primarily those that owned restaurants and nail salons. They had thoroughly researched and surveilled their victims, learning when they'd be home and be at work, then broke into their homes during the day or early evening. In total, they had stolen approximately $1.4 million worth of cash and jewelry over a seven-month span in 2019.

The four were connected to the various crime scenes through cellphone records, resulting in the arrest of three in 2021: Carlos Florez-Molina, Santiago Hoyos Gaviria, and Yenny Zoraya Rodas-Florez. The fourth, Jhon Florez Molina, was not arrested, believed to have gone back home to Columbia before police could identify him.

Earlier this year, 2022, the three that had been arrested pled guilty to various crimes, including counts of violating the Colorado Organized Crime Control act and theft, and were each sentenced to ten years in prison and ordered to pay more than $1 million restitution. Charges are still outstanding for the fourth, Jhon Florez Molina.

While there is no indication that they killed anyone during their robbery spree, the circumstances of this just seem to be coincidental to me. According to statements made by police, at least three men were believed to have played a part in Maggie's death, with a fourth unidentified suspect possible. Maggie had interrupted a burglary in progress, and was likely killed because she had bore witness to the suspects and their crime. A little over a year later, these four would specifically target Asian-American business owners in Colorado for theft.

Maybe there is no connection, but the circumstances here just seem to be too great for me to ignore mentioning.

That same year, 2021, it was learned that the FBI was investigating Maggie's death as a potential hate crime. In a statement written to news station CBS4, officials with the FBI wrote:

"The FBI is investigating the murder of Maggie Long as a Hate Crime Matter. A Hate Crime is a criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by the individual's bias against a race, religion, disability, ethnicity/national origin, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity."

This news came as a bit of a revelation to the family of Maggie Long, whose sisters told CBS News that they hadn't noticed any anti-Asian discrimination during their many years living in Park County, Colorado. But after more than three years of no resolution in the case, they were glad to hear the investigators were still actively working on the case in every possible way, as they hadn't been in close contact with the members of the Maggie Long Task Force in quite some time.

It is unknown what led federal investigators to reclassify the crime as a hate crime, with the FBI referring press inquiries to their brief initial statement. It is possible that Maggie and/or her family had been targeted because of their Asian-American heritage, and she might have been burned alive for that reason. However, many believe that this was a purely bureaucratic move, which allowed the investigation to obtain more resources from the federal government due to the hate crime designation; the preceding year had seen a lot of hate crimes toward Asian-Americans in America after the outbreak of COVID-19, and this designation might have been more of a procedural move than an investigative breakthrough.

Nonetheless, the hate crime designation succeeded in at least one avenue: it attracted a lot more attention to the case, and shined a spotlight on the murder of Maggie Long for the first time in a couple of years. Sadly, though, this was the last major breakthrough in the case.

Just recently, in December of 2022, Maggie was remembered by her friends and family, as well as members of the Park County Sheriff's Office, who continue to oversee the investigation into her death.

On the fifth anniversary of her murder, a statement was released by the sheriff's office, which read:

"While the Park County Sheriff's Office, the 11th Judicial District Attorney's Office, and our state and federal partners have never stopped the search for the people responsible for Maggie's death, we renew our commitment to her family and the Bailey community on this somber anniversary - and beyond - in our quest for justice in this case."

This statement was released alongside a statement from Maggie's loved ones, which read:

"Maggie deserves justice. She was an irreplaceable, innocent soul with a majestic presence. She brought a joy to our family, her friends, and her community that will never be forgotten. Five years ago, she was horrifically murdered. We have endured an active investigation while processing the loss of our beloved Maggie.

"Our hope is that someone with information will come forward so those responsible for Maggie's death will be apprehended and held accountable. No other family should have to suffer such senseless loss. Please help us attain justice and honor Maggie's infectious spirit and zest for life. We want her legacy to not be overshadowed by tragedy. Help us restore Maggie's optimistic and loving image to the forefront of our memories."

A reward of up to $75,000 is available for anyone that helps lead authorities to the arrest and conviction of the individual(s) responsible. Per the FBI website, additional reward money may also be available, which was raised by the Park County Sheriff's Office, the ATF, the FBI, the CBI, and the family of Maggie Long. All continue to work to raise awareness for this case, and believe that answers will eventually be found.

Park County Sheriff Tom McGraw said on the fifth anniversary of the case:

"Someone has that key piece of information that will lead to the arrest of those responsible for Maggie's murder. We ask that people be bold and come forward to share what they know to help us solve this case."

Anyone with information is encouraged to reach out to their local FBI field office, or if you live out of the country, your nearest American Embassy or Consulate. You can remain anonymous if you so choose, and can also reach out directly to the Maggie Long Task Force through the tip line at (303) 239-4243 or email at maggie.long.tips@state.co.us.

As of this episode's recording, the story of Maggie Long remains unresolved.