Man walks into Old Colorado City bar, claiming to be Christopher Abeyta, baby missing for decades

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - A man has come forward in Colorado Springs claiming he might be Christopher Abeyta, who was taken from his crib more than 40 years ago.

The development has prompted the missing man's family to seek DNA testing to verify the claim. Abeyta went missing in 1986 in the middle of the night, setting off a decades-long search that has never been abandoned by his family.

The new lead emerged recently after a man approached a local bartender following a report on KRDO13 about the cold case.

Miranda, a bartender in Colorado Springs who asked to remain anonymous, was working when she noticed a man who appeared to be crying. She said the man asked for a phone charger before revealing his suspected identity.

“He was teary-eyed and, the first thing he said to me was, do you have a phone charger? And I asked, you know, is everything okay? And he said, 'Not really. I think I'm Christopher Abeyta. Do you know who that is?' And I do know who that is,” Miranda said.

The man told Miranda he had traveled to Colorado Springs by bus after discovering information about the 1986 cold case.

“It kind of struck me, and I got a little shaky, and I'm like, what do you mean, you know? And he said, he found everything out and took a bus to Colorado Springs,” Miranda said.

During the encounter, the man showed Miranda photos to compare his facial features to those of the infant who vanished in 1986. Miranda subsequently took a photo of the man and contacted local police to report the interaction.

“Might not be him, but on the chance it was, it felt important to to say something,” Miranda said. “I feel for the family. So any kind of opportunity for them to get closure would be good.”

KRDO13 spoke to Denise Alves, one of Abeyta's siblings, who is grateful for the information, noting the bravery required to come forward.

“It takes courage to call in a tip and talk to somebody. Even if the tip doesn't produce answers for us, it's encouraging that there are people out there like her that have the courage to say, hey, this could be something,” the family member said.

While the family has grown accustomed to tempering their expectations after similar developments in the past, they said that every tip helps keep the investigation into Christopher's disappearance alive.

The family remains in contact with law enforcement as the investigation continues and says DNA testing is expected to take several months to complete.

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