Police Escalate Search for Colorado Man Who Vanished After Visiting Century Casino in July

Posted on: August 28, 2020, 08:12h. 

Last updated on: August 28, 2020, 12:58h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More

Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

Colorado authorities are looking for Jose Federico Aranda, who was last seen at Century Casino a month ago. His car was found abandoned 13 miles from the Black Hawk gaming property.

Aranda has been missing for 28 days. The Aurora man last visited the casino on July 30 and left the establishment at about 8 p.m and was last seen on Apex Valley Road, based on casino surveillance video. But Aranda never made it home.

Relatives said it was unusual for him to disappear, according to KUSA, a Denver television station.

Before his disappearance, Aranda was seen wearing blue jeans, a dark shirt, and black corduroy slippers. He also was wearing a silver-colored chain that included a miniature anchor.

It’s just weird the way this is coming about,” Raul Aranda, the missing man’s son, told KUSA. “Why would he go to an all-terrain road with corduroy sandals on?”

Local authorities have since found Aranda’s car, located about 13 miles away from the gaming establishment.

Cry to Public

Following a month of searching, relatives and authorities are now turning to the public for help.

The Aurora Police Department is handling the investigation, with assistance from the Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office. They are posting information about the incident on social media.

Any small detail, anything you can remember, that is what we need,” Aurora Police Department Public Information Officer Matthew Longshore told KUSA. “Right now, it’s very concerning, the amount of details we don’t have.”

Family members also have handed out printed flyers in the hope of finding out more about Aranda’s disappearance. They have also visited a pawn shop in the region to see if the silver chain was in stock.

Aurora police officers and Gilpin County Sheriff’s deputies continue to search the area near the casino and the property where the car was discovered.

Woman’s Remains Found

In an unrelated case, SFGate reported that the body of a woman who was last seen at California’s Thunder Valley Casino in October 2005 was discovered earlier this month by local sheriff’s deputies.

The woman was identified as Christie Wilson, then 27. She was allegedly murdered by Mario Flavio Garcia 15 years ago.

The two met each other at Thunder Valley Casino. She had gambled there for an evening. Garcia repeatedly tried to engage her in conversation and eventually the two left the casino together.

In 2007, Garcia was convicted of first-degree murder in connection with the case. Authorities recently found her skeletal remains outside of Garcia’s former residence in Auburn. Her identity was confirmed by dental records.

After the conviction, Garcia, 67, was sentenced to a prison term of 59 years to life at California’s R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility. He remains in custody at the prison.