EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - A former El Paso County Sheriff's Office (EPSO) deputy is facing theft, fraud, and official misconduct charges.

The charges come almost a year after he disappeared in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Court documents show that Kevin Sypher lied to numerous people that he had cancer and was going through a "nasty divorce" to get money from friends, coworkers, and a non-profit that he was a board member of. In total, court documents say he got just over $20,000 which he spent on vacation, such as concerts in Flordia and a trip to California.

The Surgery and Internal Affairs Complaint

According to court documents, Sypher was on leave from work from March 7, 2023, - April 18, 2023. The paperwork he filed stated that the leave was related to a surgery he had on March 7, 2023.

However, on March 6, 2023, a volunteer for the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and a friend of Sypher since 2010 filed an Internal Affairs complaint against him.

The complaint 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 volunteer agreed and Sypher provided a detailed script. The volunteer was to be a doctor notifying someone a family member had cancer.

The volunteer said the role-play went well and they thought nothing of it until they received a voicemail from the other person who was involved in the call. The person turned out to be Sypher's wife who said she was confused and Sypher's doctors had no record of cancer diagnosis.

Court documents say that while investigating the complaint, it was discovered that many people close to Sypher had given him large sums of money. Coworkers gave Sypher money after he told them he had cancer, due to the ongoing divorce all his assets were frozen. He told them he was homeless and didn't have money for food, gas, or other necessities.

Court documents show that after the March 7, 2023 surgery, Sypher's doctor cleared him to return to work on April 18, 2023.

9 days later, Sypher vanished for the first time.

The Disappearances

On April 27, 2023, Sypher walked out of a home in Parker where he lived with his new wife.

An EPSO sergeant contacted Sypher's first wife when he went missing as a courtesy so she wouldn't find out on the news. Court documents say that the sergeant was a personal friend of the first wife but was under the impression that she and Sypher were divorced since she had lived in California for the past 10 years and Sypher married his second wife on March 26, 2023. The first wife said that they were not divorced and that she would fly out to Colorado to help find Sypher.

Sypher was located on April 29, 2023, by his first wife and son in Greenwood Village.

On April 30, 2023, Sypher then disappeared at Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) after he walked away from the vehicle he was traveling in. RMNP searched for him but closed the case on May 5 after finding evidence indicating that Sypher was not truly missing in the park and that his family was not cooperating.

Court documents say that on July 5, 2023, all of his PTO with EPSO had been used and his last paycheck was issued in mid-July. His benefits were also discontinued.

What the criminal investigation revealed

The investigation turned up a document on Sypher's work computer that detailed who had loaned him money and when from May 26, 2022, through October 4, 2022. That document provided a list of coworkers and friends for investigators to interview.

Court documents show that all the victims had a similar story. Sypher would tell them that he was paying for expensive cancer treatment out of pocket and that his first wife found out he was dating someone so she filed for divorce and froze all his assets and accounts. Sypher would say that he was only able to eat at the cafeteria EPSO had for employees and that he was sleeping in his office.

Court documents say that his coworkers and friends would then give him money, some as a loan and others as a gift, ranging in amounts from a few hundred to $9,000. They all expressed that they believed Sypher was facing financial hardships and were helping him out as a friend. One coworker even withdrew from their retirement to give Sypher $8,000.

In reality, court documents say that Sypher and his first wife had a joint bank account where his paycheck direct deposited to and that shortly after meeting his second wife, he opened a separate bank account where he deposited the money he got from his coworkers. This bank account was used primarily for vacations, entertainment, and eating out with his second wife. He also used this account to buy an engagement ring for his second wife.

The Unraveling

Court documents show that investigators obtained Sypher's medical records. Those records show that from 2015 on there was no indication Sypher ever had cancer. All medical records showed that Sypher participated in regular check-ups, including blood draws, and that no significant problems were reported.

Investigators were also unable to find any divorce paperwork, and Sypher's accounts were never frozen. Sypher's first wife also told investigators that she never filed for divorce like Sypher said.

According to court documents, Sypher asked his second wife to marry him as "his dying wish" since he just received a poor prognosis related to his cancer. EPSO also says that he misused a database to search his second wife's ex-husband with the intent to "gain benefit for himself"

Sypher was terminated from EPSO on August 28, 2023. He was arrested on April 2, 2024.

Sypher's next court date is set for early June.