Body in Westminster pond confirmed as missing man

Font ResizeLocal NewsBy John Ingold
The Denver Postdenverpost.comPosted: 12/18/2012 03:55:26 PM MSTDecember 18, 2012 11:5 PM GMTUpdated: 12/18/2012 04:05:33 PM MST

A body found in a pond near the Westminster hotel where John Lucas Edwards went missing was confirmed Tuesday as that of Edwards.

Westminster police said there is no indication of foul play. The cause and manner of Edwards' death, though, are still to be determined.

Edwards, a 36-year-old construction worker, went missing Dec. 9. He was last seen at a holiday party at the Westin Hotel on Westminster Boulevard. His truck and belongings were found at the hotel.

The search for Edwards initially focused on a pair of ponds near the hotel, but ice hindered some of the search efforts. Warmer temperatures allowed the Westminster Fire Department's dive team to look again at City Park Pond, about a ¼ mile from the hotel. On Monday, the team discovered a body in the pond.

On Tuesday, Westminster police said the Jefferson County Coroner's Office had confirmed that the body was that of Edwards.

John Ingold: 303-954-1068, jingold

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One dead, one gravely wounded in Westminster hotel shooting

Font ResizeLocal NewsThe Denver Postdenverpost.comPosted: 12/14/2012 09:36:22 PM MSTDecember 15, 2012 6:6 AM GMTUpdated: 12/14/2012 11:06:25 PM MST

A Westminster hotel clerk was killed and the man who shot her was in critical condition late Friday after what police described as a murder-suicide attempt.

Westminster officers were called to the Savannah Suites at 120th and Mariposa streets about 7 p.m. on reports of gunfire. They found the woman dead and the man on the first floor with a self-inflicted gunshot, department spokeswoman Chery Spottke said.

She would not release either person's name, saying investigators were still struggling to make contact with the woman's next-of-kin. She would not say where the man was hospitalized and declined to describe his relationship to the woman.

Hotel guests were being allowed to re-enter their rooms late Friday after being displaced, though police kept half of the first-floor cordoned off so they could investigate. Police urged patrons to enter through the doors on the west side.

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