Aspen police believe con man fled from illegal shack

Aspen police say a man who illegally built a shack on Aspen Mountain is a con man with a long criminal record.

The Aspen Times reports that Detective Jeff Fain says he believes James Hogue is now gone from the illegal structure after finding a vehicle registered to the man at the shack. Hogue most recently came to the attention of police in September, when they received a report from Aspen Skiing Co. employees about the illegal structure. Fain says an officer went to speak to the occupant, but the man inside ducked out a window and ran off into the woods. Hogue has been the subject of stories in The New Yorker, The New York Times, People Magazine and other publications that have detailed his long history of fraudulent behavior.