Friends Fear Widefield Body Is Missing Teen

Friends fear a body found at French Elementary Friday is Keith Cohu, a teen missing since November.

Investigators have not made an identification yet, but said they believe the person found is a 17-year-old runaway who was last seen on the roof of the school.

Cohu’s grandfather told KRDO Newschannel 13 that Cohu, 17, was last seen on the roof of French Elementary.

The body was discovered at about 2:30 p.m. Friday about 15 feet down a boiler ventilation shaft. Investigators said it was unrecognizable.

Many of Cohu’s friends mourned him on his Facebook page Friday night. Others continued to hold out hope.

“I really hope it’s not him,” said Dalton Root, Cohu’s former classmate.

“If it is him, I don’t know what I’m going to do,” said former classmate Dillon Warner. “That kid taught me a lot.”

Root and Warner said Cohu had dropped out of Widefield High School, but said he used to be on the wrestling team and was well-liked.

“Keith taught me and a couple other guys how to wrestle,” said Warner. “He did wonders for us.”

“We laughed and joked around,” said Root. “Everyone in class loved him.”

The sheriff’s office said the mother of a missing teen contacted them last week.

“She had information from some of his friends that he was last seen on the roof of French Elementary,” said Lt. Lari Sevene with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.

Sevene said a deputy checked the roof that night, Saturday December 3, but said it was too icy to go up. She said school officials checked on Monday, but found nothing. It was a Colorado Springs police officer and friend of the missing teen’s family who found the body when he went back up Friday to search again.

Investigators are calling this a suspicious death, but they said they don’t believe there’s any threat to the community.

Students are planning a candlelight vigil for Cohu on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the sophomore parking lot of Widelfield High School.