Colorado Springs father weighs in on missing persons cases

Gil Abeyta has a good understanding of what the families of Lea Porter and Kelsie Schelling are facing as they search for their missing loved ones.

Abeyta’s son, Christopher, was seven months old when he was kidnapped from his crib in Colorado Springs in 1986. Abeyta recalls first hearing the news about his son that he describes as a shock.

“You just don’t believe it. You don’t know why. You ask all these questions that you can’t answer,” he said.

Nearly 27 years after Abeyta’s son disappeared, Schelling went missing in Pueblo on her way to meet up with the father of her unborn child. Most recently, last year, Porter went missing in Westminster.

“Many people go through a lot of pain after the shock. They never recover. It’s forever. You take it to your grave,” Abeyta said.

Abeyta has been helping solve missing persons cases since his son disappeared. He’s meeting with Schelling’s family later this week. He said in most cases law enforcement agencies know who’s responsible, but it’s harder to prove because there’s no crime scene.

“The problem is they don’t have the facts or circumstances to continue the case,” Abeyta said. “There’s no remedy for it other than finding or finishing the search.”

Abeyta admits the nearly 30-year mystery into his son’s disappearance has made him lose confidence in investigators.

“You lose confidence in them after a while when it doesn’t get solved,” he said.

Abeyta has his suspicions of what happened to his son. It’s not knowing where he is now that worries him most.

“I can’t tell you whether Christopher is alive or dead. We wish he was alive, but we don’t know,” Abeyta said.

Families trying to cope with the disappearance of a person can also contact the Families of Homicide Victims and Missing Persons. For more information visit: http://unresolvedhomicides.org/index.php