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Judge dismisses Class 1 felony kidnapping case

Matt Stensland

— A judge has dismissed the case against a 54-year-old Craig man accused of kidnapping related to an incident in the late 1970s.

A grand jury this summer indicted Monty Doolin on a charge of first-degree kidnapping. He was freed from custody after posting bond.

Doolin is known in Northwest Colorado for having been a suspect in the still-unsolved disappearance of Hayden teenager Marie Blee 35 years ago.



The grand jury indictment related to the kidnapping of a different female teenager around the same time as Blee’s disappearance.

According to the grand jury indictment, Doolin was accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting the female teenager he enticed to ride with him in his vehicle from Elkhead Reservoir toward the town of Hayden in either the summer of 1978 or 1979. After the incident, the female got out of the truck and ran.



A person can be charged with first-degree kidnapping if there is a belief the victim suffered bodily injury. The grand jury did not return a separate indictment for sexual assault.

Doolin’s attorney asked District Court Judge Shelley Hill to review the grand jury transcripts to determine whether there was probable cause for the kidnapping indictment.

Hill considered the legal definition of first-degree kidnapping when she made her ruling.

Hill ruled Doolin did not have the intent to “force the victim or any other person to make any concession or give up anything of value in order to secure a release of a person.”

The Routt County District Attorney’s Office plans to appeal Hill’s ruling.

“We strongly disagree with the district court’s conclusion and believe the court did not apply the correct legal standard to the issue before it,” District Attorney Brett Barkey said in a news release. “We will ask the appellate courts to overturn this decision and reinstate the charge brought by the grand jury.”

To reach Matt Stensland, call 970-871-4247, email mstensland@SteamboatToday.com or follow him on Twitter @SBTStensland


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