Missing former El Paso Co deputy found, charged with theft, fraud

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - Tonight a former El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO) deputy is in jail after being missing for months.  KRDO13 investigates is uncovering new allegations against him as he faces fraud and theft charges.

Former EPSO deputy, Kevin Sypher, appeared in court Wednesday for charges of theft, charitable fraud and two counts of official misconduct. He delayed his bond argument until his court hearing next week, which means his current bond of $100,000 will remain the same.

Sypher worked 11 years for the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, primarily in the jail. His name may sound familiar because on April 27, 2023, Sypher walked out of his Parker home with two trash bags and never returned. Two days later he was located safely and was in contact with the Parker Police Department.

However, the next day Sypher disappeared into the Rocky Mountain National Park. He was last seen near the Wild Basin Entrance in Rocky Mountain National Park when he is reported to have willingly walked away from a vehicle he was traveling in. Crews searched for him for days but never found him, ending efforts on May 5.

On Tuesday night, KRDO13 Investigates learned he was booked into the Teller County Jail on a $100,000 bond. The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said it terminated Sypher in August, while he was still allegedly missing.

A volunteer for the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and a friend of Sypher said this could have been avoided. They’ve known Sypher since 2010 but filed an Internal Affairs complaint against him two months before the disappearances. They asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation.

“When you have any law enforcement officer that lies, particularly to a friend, that sort of departure from the truth can permeate everything they do,” the source said. “So I started questioning things that he had told me about years before.”

In March 2023, the source said Sypher reached out asking if they could participate in a role playing situation to help with a crisis negotiation training class for EPSO. The source agreed and Sypher provided a detailed script. The source was to be a doctor notifying someone a family member had cancer.

“You do not know me and no nothing about law enforcement or crisis negotiations,” Sypher said in the script sent to the source. “You discovered what you believe to be five stromal tumors localized near the pancreas. 85 percent or higher recovery (Play this up!!!)”

The source said the role play went well and they thought nothing of it until they received a voicemail from the other person that was involved in the call. The person said she was confused and the doctors at the hospital didn’t know what cancer she was talking about.

“I didn't know if it was his wife,” the source said. “If it was a person who was in on the scenario. It was very confusing and that's why I tried to contact them.”

The source said they tried calling the woman and Sypher but neither of them answered. That’s when they filed an Internal Affairs complaint with EPSO. They later learned Sypher was soliciting donations from people for his alleged cancer treatment.

“In the course of this alleged ‘scenario’, I was used to convey medical information to whom I now believe was either his wife or girlfriend under false pretenses,” the complaint said. “As a Colorado licensed physician since 1984, my integrity has been potentially compromised by this hoax that was foisted on me. Also, as an active and serving Colorado POST-certified reserve law enforcement officer, my integrity has also been potentially compromised by this series of lies and deceptions.”

The source said they received little communication from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office about his IA complaint, then weeks later he heard Sypher had disappeared twice.

“When he disappeared again, seemingly without a trace, it just did not seem right,” the source said. “It seemed like there was something else going on rather than a person at the end of their rope.”

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office didn’t answer our questions about whether they investigated this internal affairs complaint and if it was related to the Sypher’s criminal charges. We also requested an interview with the sheriff, which they denied. We reached out to the public defender’s office and requested a jail interview with Sypher himself, but we never heard back.

Sypher’s former co-worker is concerned about cases Sypher may be involved in if he is able to deceive a friend. They recommend the Sheriff’s Office reviews the cases he was involved in.

“Any time a law enforcement officer gets caught up in a criminal investigation, their work has to be looked at,” the source said. “Hopefully the sheriff's office is doing that, but I have no knowledge that they are.”