Update Carlos Retana case

[Greeley, CO] - The Weld County Sheriff’s Office would like to issue an update in this case to inform the public of the information we can release thus far and clear up any misinformation that has been circulating online. Please keep in mind this investigation is not complete, it is still active, and on-going.

On Aug. 10, 2024, at 12:44 a.m. the Weld County Sheriff’s Office patrol division responded to a single vehicle traffic crash in the area of Weld County Road 59 and Weld County Road 8. When the deputy arrived to investigate, none of the occupants of the vehicle were on the scene of the traffic crash. A fence, and an unoccupied parked vehicle were damaged due to the crash.

On Aug. 10, 2024, at 3:52 p.m. the sheriff’s office received a call for service for a missing person at a residence in Keenesburg, CO, where 18-year-old Carlos Retana was reported missing.

In an effort to locate Carlos on Aug. 10, 2024, at 6:47 p.m. the WCSO patrol division deployed a drone to search the area where the traffic crash took place using wide angle, zoom, and infrared lenses and nothing of evidentiary value was discovered. Concerns have been expressed online as to why the sheriff’s office did not conduct a K-9 track at this time. A K-9 was not deployed in this instance because the area of the crash scene was contaminated by human odor from several individuals searching for Carlos.

On Aug. 11, 2024, around 5:00 p.m. WCSO patrol responded to a medical assist call involving a deceased male near the intersection of Weld County Road 59 and Weld County Road 10. The Weld County coroner responded to the scene and conducted a death investigation. Today, the coroner identified the deceased male found on Aug. 11^th as Carlos Retana. The Weld County coroner will determine the final cause and manner of death, which also includes toxicology testing.

This is an active, on-going investigation and no further information will be released at this time.