After turning himself in to the El Paso County Sheriffís Office on a first-degree kidnapping arrest warrant issued June 2, Kyle Davis Curley Murphy was linked to two other criminal events in the Falcon area.According to the sheriffís office website at http://epcsheriff.com, the kidnapping victim was a 19-year-old female who had been riding her bicycle along Woodmen Hills Drive, near Velvet Antler Way, when a man in a sports utility vehicle approached her. According to the report on the website,the suspect grabbed the victim and forced her into the vehicle, along with her bicycle. As the suspect began to drive away, the victim managed to jump from the SUV, sustaining minor injuries but escaping to a nearby home, where the residents called the sheriffís office.Two other recent incidents of indecent exposure were subsequently linked to Murphy when he turned himself in for the kidnapping incident, according to the web-site. One incident occurred on March 24, along Londonderry Drive; and the other on May 31 in the Walmart parking lot in Falcon.Lt. Jeff Kramer, public information officer with the EPCSO, said that Murphy, age 23, is local to the Falcon area and had used two different vehicles during the three events he was linked to.Kramer said that from a statistical perspective, there hasnít been a spike in this type of case in the Falcon area, although it may appear that way. ìIn 2012, we had two reports of indecent exposure in that area (Falcon) and one in 2013,î he said. The two reports for 2014 were lumped into the kidnapping case because they were linked to the same suspect, he said.ìI agree that from a media perspective, there have been a lot of reports of activity like this in the Springs (Colorado Springs) and other parts of the county,î Kramer said. ìIn the things we investigate, you can have a situation that is slightly different from indecent exposure, like having a vehicle pull up next to you and just drive slowly; thatís not going to be titled indecent exposure. Itís probably going to be called a suspicious incident.îKramer said he doesnít think collectively these types of incidents are on the rise, but there is always a concern that these crimes could escalate into something more serious. ìThese are events that we take very seriously and obviously investigate aggressively,î he said.Part of that investigation can often be using press releases to spread the word about suspect information and a vehicle description, Kramer said. ìIn doing so, weíve increased our chances of someone spotting it (the vehicle),î he said. ìI encourage sharing the information, but I wouldcaution that people need to have a good understanding of the event, and the information being shared reflects the truth about theevent.îKramer said some ideas to avoid a potentially dangerous situation include the following: Be aware of surroundings by keeping your head up; identify potential risks or problems; have a whistle or some other type of noisemaker to alert other people to danger; be prepared to change directions or take a different route if something or someone is suspicious; and have a cell phone handy.ìOur cell phones are tremendous tools,î he said. ìUsually, by virtue of our phones, we have a camera, notepad, voice recorder and phone available to us.îIf faced with a potentially dangerous or suspicious situation, Kramer said to make a call to the sheriffís office, even if it turns out to be nothing. ìThereís no quota to how many times you can call the sheriffís office, so just do it,î he said. The information the EPCSO is typically looking for is a description of the location where the incident is occurring, descriptions of the peopleinvolved, license plate numbers, if applicable, and any other simple observations, Kramer said.ìWe recognize that facing a dangerous situation, descriptions can vary and be skewed by the situation,î he said. ìItís best to have an understanding of your location and to report what you observe. Answer the questions the dispatchers have, if you can. Remove yourself from the dangerous scenario, though. Donít stick around longer to help us get the information.îKramer said he recommends that once a person has completed a call to the sheriffís office about an incident, they should sit down, gather their thoughts and write everything down. ìYour mind can be very scattered but having those notes can be helpful,î he said. ìDonít do this before you call. Do this maybe while waiting for the dispatched officers to arrive.ìThe overall message needs to be to consider some of the tools that you have at your disposal, but never utilize those if it puts you in harmís way. Get to a safe place first.î
