The Denver Post
May 30, 2012
by Kirk Mitchell
Names: Nancy Mason, 47
Location: Stream near St. Elmo in Chaffee County
Agency: Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office
Date died: May 30, 2004
Cause of death: Suspicious
Suspect: Dan Mason
Though they work side by side, police and prosecutors don’t always agree about cases.
But usually they keep their differences to themselves. They don’t criticize each other publicly because they are on the same team and will have to work together in the future. They must maintain a working relationship.
On the anniversary of Nancy Mason’s death on a Memorial Day weekend in 2004, I recount her case that was handled so differently than most.
In Mason’s case differences in strategy between the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Department and the district attorney became a point of contention. It became a very visible battle. The two offices remain at odds.
Originally, Mason’s case was considered an accident. Mason was celebrating the holiday with her husband and his close friend Efren Gallegos who lived with them. She was on a rock ledge fishing upstream from Mason and Gallegos when she fell into the water and drowned.
Years later, when Chaffee County investigators looked into Mason’s case, they found many clues that they believed pointed to homicide, not an accidental fall in a river. For example, Mason and Gallegos claimed they heard Nancy Mason scream after she fell into the stream, but an autopsy showed her neck was broken.
But the prosecutor disagreed. He believed that there was strong evidence including the original autopsy that indicated Nancy Mason died of natural causes.
Then began a very public dispute. The investigator called me in the spring of 2008 and asked if I’d be interested in doing a profile. I was. It was the first year that I had been writing stories about Colorado cold cases.
When I reached Dan Mason on the phone he told me an amazing story. He claimed his wife fell into a raging mountain creek while fishing during a Memorial Day weekend. He said he leaped into the water and tried to save her. During the attempt an angel literally pulled him and Nancy out of the water, he told me. But he couldn’t save her.
Subsequently, a bitter legal battle ensued between the sheriff’s office and the DA’s office.
The inquest resulted in a finding that Mason was the victim of a homicide.
A warrant was subsequently issued in the case for the arrest of two suspects.
But the Chaffee County district attorney Thom LeDoux declined to file charges.
The sheriff’s office petitioned a judge to appoint a special prosecutorto file charges in the case, but the request was later rejected.
The story caught the interest of the national media.
Dateline NBC correspondent Dennis Murphy narrated a story in August of 2009 about the case called “Mystery at Chalk Creek: A mother’s ‘accidental’ death leaves behind clues that point to murder.'”
Be sure to follow Cold Cases or Like Kirk Mitchell on Facebook for the latest and more notorious Colorado cold cases.
Location: Stream near St. Elmo in Chaffee County
Agency: Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office
Date died: May 30, 2004
Cause of death: Suspicious
Suspect: Dan Mason
Though they work side by side, police and prosecutors don’t always agree about cases.
But usually they keep their differences to themselves. They don’t criticize each other publicly because they are on the same team and will have to work together in the future. They must maintain a working relationship.
On the anniversary of Nancy Mason’s death on a Memorial Day weekend in 2004, I recount her case that was handled so differently than most.
In Mason’s case differences in strategy between the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Department and the district attorney became a point of contention. It became a very visible battle. The two offices remain at odds.
Originally, Mason’s case was considered an accident. Mason was celebrating the holiday with her husband and his close friend Efren Gallegos who lived with them. She was on a rock ledge fishing upstream from Mason and Gallegos when she fell into the water and drowned.
Years later, when Chaffee County investigators looked into Mason’s case, they found many clues that they believed pointed to homicide, not an accidental fall in a river. For example, Mason and Gallegos claimed they heard Nancy Mason scream after she fell into the stream, but an autopsy showed her neck was broken.
But the prosecutor disagreed. He believed that there was strong evidence including the original autopsy that indicated Nancy Mason died of natural causes.
Then began a very public dispute. The investigator called me in the spring of 2008 and asked if I’d be interested in doing a profile. I was. It was the first year that I had been writing stories about Colorado cold cases.
When I reached Dan Mason on the phone he told me an amazing story. He claimed his wife fell into a raging mountain creek while fishing during a Memorial Day weekend. He said he leaped into the water and tried to save her. During the attempt an angel literally pulled him and Nancy out of the water, he told me. But he couldn’t save her.
Subsequently, a bitter legal battle ensued between the sheriff’s office and the DA’s office.
The inquest resulted in a finding that Mason was the victim of a homicide.
A warrant was subsequently issued in the case for the arrest of two suspects.
But the Chaffee County district attorney Thom LeDoux declined to file charges.
The sheriff’s office petitioned a judge to appoint a special prosecutorto file charges in the case, but the request was later rejected.
The story caught the interest of the national media.
Dateline NBC correspondent Dennis Murphy narrated a story in August of 2009 about the case called “Mystery at Chalk Creek: A mother’s ‘accidental’ death leaves behind clues that point to murder.'”
Be sure to follow Cold Cases or Like Kirk Mitchell on Facebook for the latest and more notorious Colorado cold cases.
