19-Year-Old’s Remains Discovered Decade After Disappearance, Suspect Arrested
After the sheriff’s office re-interviewed a key witness, a search warrant led to remains at the rural home of a suspect, who has been charged with murder.
El Paso County Sheriff’s Office
The remains of a 19-year-old who went missing a decade ago were found this week, Colorado authorities said on Tuesday.
Kara Nichols’ remains were discovered in the rural Black Forest area while police executed a search warrant at the home of a suspect, El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder said at a Tuesday press conference. Joel Hollendorfer, 46, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and felony evidence tampering in connection with Nichols’ disappearance. The sheriff’s office did not describe Hollendorfer’s relationship to Nichols. The identification of the remains was preliminary, Elder said, and the coroner’s office would be conducting a more thorough investigation before making an official announcement, though Elder said his office felt confident in the findings.
Nichols was reported missing on Oct. 14, 2012. Her brother Terry had been the last person to see her alive, five days earlier, according to the sheriff’s office. An aspiring model who lived in Colorado Springs, she had been en route to Denver when she disappeared. She told her friends she was traveling for a photoshoot. Nichols had a history of heroin use and had just come out of rehab, her father, Paul, told police at the time.
“There’s nothing anyone can say to bring Kara back, but we hope recovering Kara’s remains will bring closure and comfort to her family,” said Leonard Carollo, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI field office in Denver.
After “dozens of search warrants” and “leads that spanned the U.S. and Europe,” the cops were led to Hollendorfer’s home after re-interviewing a key witness in the case with the help of the FBI, the sheriff said, calling the case a “long and difficult road.” The investigation remains ongoing.
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The sheriff’s office took no questions following the press conference and did not immediately respond to a request from The Daily Beast for further information.
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