Two Colorado Springs girls found after going missing from Elbert basketball game
The live stream of the Elbert County Sheriff's Office press conference has ended. You can watch the recording above.
ELBERT, Colo. (KRDO) – Two missing girls from Colorado Springs have been located after a search in Elbert, Douglas County Search and Rescue confirms.
According to the Elbert School District, the 13-year-olds are students at Colorado Springs School, and were at the Elbert School for a basketball game on the evening of Monday, Dec. 15. The girls were reportedly seen leaving the school with their backpacks around 5 p.m. that evening.
On Tuesday morning, Douglas County Search and Rescue announced that the two girls were found within 12-15 miles from the school, though the Elbert County undersheriff says their location was closer to 8 miles away.
The two girls left without their cell phones, according to the Elbert County Sheriff's Office. The undersheriff says they walked up to a residence around 8:30 or 9 a.m. on Tuesday morning, prompting their safe return.
"We have video of them leaving the school, and that kind of triggered our search," said Dave Fisher, the Undersheriff with Elbert County.
Fisher also told us that the girls told him they got spooked by a herd of elk and ended up spending the night in a tree.
Temperatures dipped into the 30s overnight during the time that the girls were missing.
The sheriff's office had been in contact with both the CBI and FBI about bringing in extra resources, but thankfully, it didn't become necessary after the two were found.
Classes at Elbert School were canceled today, Dec. 16, so the building could serve as the incident command post for search and rescue efforts.
"We had leadership on site, we stayed in constant communication — and we were very happy to hear the kids are back and safe," said Marie Newbrough, the Communications Director at The Colorado School.
Authorities do not believe that foul play was involved in the girls' disappearances; they have since been reunited with their families.
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