Police: Colorado Man in Suspected Kidnapping Shot by Authorities

LARAMIE, Wyo. – Police in Colorado shot and wounded a man Friday that officers said matched the description of a suspected kidnapper whose victim was found safe hours earlier in Wyoming.

Three officers with the Fort Collins Police Department were involved in the shooting. None was injured.

The shooting followed an extensive manhunt for Dennis Gene Cox, 50, that had been centered in Laramie, Wyo., about 69 miles northwest of Fort Collins.

Laramie police began searching for Cox after a woman he was suspected of kidnapping from Brighton, Colo., was found safe at a Laramie hotel.

Laramie Police Commander Mitchell Cushman said he got word from the FBI that Cox was the man shot by police in Fort Collins. However, an FBI spokeswoman couldn't confirm the identification.

Fort Collins police said the shooting occurred on a downtown street near a bus station when officers encountered a man who matched the description of the kidnapping suspect.

"The suspect pointed a gun at the officers and officers shot the suspect," a statement from Fort Collins police said.

Authorities said the man was transported to a hospital. Efforts to get further information about his condition were unsuccessful.

Leah Raaslaub, a waitress at a restaurant across the street from the shooting scene, said she didn't hear anything until police cars arrived.

"We didn't know until the news came on" that the suspect was even in the area, Raaslaub said.

Authorities have said Julie Ann Kilgore, 48, a nurse, was kidnapped on Tuesday. Brighton police said they had secured a warrant for Cox's arrest on kidnapping charges.

Brighton police spokesman John Bradley said Kilgore left her home with Cox on Tuesday. Relatives became suspicious, however, because Kilgore left a 7-year-old niece unattended. When Kilgore didn't return, relatives called police.

Cushman said Cox had checked into the Laramie hotel on Thursday then fled before police arrived. He abandoned a Ford Taurus he was driving in downtown Laramie, police said.

Police issued a statement saying Cox had a .45-caliber pistol and a Taser, an electronic weapon that can incapacitate people.