Story by Patti Brown

Lights, cameras, action — some new holiday magic happened in Bond Park Saturday night

Hundreds of people gathered in Bond Park Saturday night for the lighting of the holiday tree — a spectacular 36-foot-tall digital tree that displays a computerized light show synchronized to holiday music.

Anticipation built as the crowd shouted out the count down a few minutes after 5:30 p.m. before the tree burst into a dazzling light show as ohhs and ahhs echoed in the brisk night air.

The Town’s holiday decorations were arranged and paid for by Visit Estes Park.

The tree will be lit for four hours every evening from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Story by Barb Boyer Buck and Patti Brown

UPDATED 6 p.m.

Radio communications among Larimer County rescue agencies indicated a Civil Air Patrol plane crashed near the top of Palisade Mountain east of Estes Park, killing two and injuring one late this morning.

According to a message posted by Gov. Jerod Polis just after 5 p.m. on X the names of the deceased are Susan Wolber, a Civil Air Patrol pilot and aerial photographer Jay Rhoten. The survivor is co-pilot Randall Settergren. The single-engine Cessna Skylane 182 was on a search and rescue training mission in Larimer County.

According to information from FlightAware flight #CAP534 took off from Northern Colorado Regional Airport in Loveland at 10:09 a.m.

The crash site appears to be quite remote, with a “helicopter plus litter” ordered when the first rescue crew arrived at the scene via the Palisade Mountain Trail, at approximately 12:30 p.m. Headquarters for the rescue mission were set up at the Loveland Fire Rescue Station 9, located at 100 Palisade Mountain Dr., Drake.

A 54-year old male with head lacerations and possible broken ribs “remembers most of it (the crash),” reported the first personnel on the crash site. Two others were killed in the crash.

At approximately 1:30 p.m., rescue personnel reported that a black SUV with a black trailer “passed two (rescue) vehicles up here and scraped the sides of both of them.” The Larimer County’s sheriff’s department was advised that the trailer license plate number is 300 WIF. One of the vehicles that was sideswiped was reported to be from Estes Park.

Rescue personnel on scene reported that they were about “200 yards below the main peak of Palisade (Mountain). We’re on a boulder field, probably the worst place (for any type of landing). We’re going to need a litter and a lot of personnel and will probably need to go pretty much straight over the top to that access road. If that ‘guardship’ is enroute, I pretty much know their hover capability … we have tree tops to work with.”

At the time of this reporting, the flight crew were still on the ground at Buckley Air Force base and plans were proceeding with a hike out with the only surviving victim: “please be aware: we only have one rescue now.”

Update: Alexandra Adams, communications specialist with the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, held a press conference at the Drake Fire Station at 3:10 p.m. She confirmed the Estes Valley Voice’s earlier reporting that a small plane had gone down before noon, and that there were two fatalities and one injury. Rescuers were still attempting to get to and transport the injured individual.

According to Adams, LCSO will work with the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board on the investigation of the crash.

Adams said no further information would be made available this evening.

Update: The article was updated with information from a post on X by Gov. Jered Polis at 6 p.m.

Story by Barb Boyer Buck

Seven Ukrainian refugees are now without transportation since Iryna Irkliienko‘s 2003 Cadillac Escalade was stolen from the parking lot at the Park Ridge Apartments in the early morning of November 17.

An Estes Park Police Department press release issued today reported this incident was part of a bigger spree: 10 separate vehicles that were unlocked were unlawfully entered and burgled and another vehicle, a blue pick-up truck, was stolen.

“These crimes occurred in different locations in Estes Park,” stated the release.

Irkliienko’s car was being used by her father who came to Estes Park as a refugee from Ukraine in 2022.

She has lived in town for 17 years and sponsors a total of seven Ukrainian refugees who live in Estes Park, all dependent on her Escalade for rides throughout town and into the valley. Her father is the only driver among them.

“It’s hard to get around Estes Park without wheels,” she said.

A neighboring building’s security camera captured video of the Escalade along with several other vehicles leaving the parking lot at 1250 Acadia Dr. 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning.

While inspecting the scene, Air Pods that were burgled from a car in another part of town were discovered by police, Irkliienko said.

“No one heard the alarm on the Escalade,” Irkliienko said, who added that it worked because it went off about a month ago when she got into the car when the doors were locked. She also said that her father always locked the door of the vehicle, but that the driver’s side door malfunctioned sometimes and may have left the Escalade vulnerable.

“My dad called me in the morning to ask if I had picked up the car,” Irkliienko said, which is when she first realized there was a problem. There were no valuables in the car when it was stolen.

The other vehicles affected by the spree were entered easily, and “personal items including wallets, credit cards, and tools were stolen from the vehicles,” reported the EPPD.

No arrests have been made in connection with these incidents. Anyone who has information that can help this active investigation is encouraged to contact Detective Kirk Jellesma at 970-577-3884 or Kjellesma@estes.org.