MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – For nearly six months, local and state investigators have been searching for Margaret Woolsey. Now, they said they believe foul play could be involved in her disappearance.
Woolsey was last heard from in the first week of August, according to investigators; however, she wasn’t reported missing until September.
“At first, I thought, okay, you know, she’s been known to take off and come back,” Woolsey’s sister April Rossetti said.
Rossetti said Woolsey lives a very independent lifestyle, so it was unusual but not uncommon for her extended absence. Eventually, a friend reported Woolsey as missing.
“After a couple days, I just kind of started checking the normal places that she normally, or I know that she frequents when she takes off,” Rossetti said.
This includes areas along Platte Avenue. Although the Colorado Bureau of Investigation said she was last seen in the Security-Widefield area.
It wasn’t necessarily her absence that worried Rossetti the most, though.
“I found out that her dog was left behind, and that’s when I knew something was wrong. She does not leave her dog. That dog is like her child,” she said.
Woolsey’s dog, Aja, was left at home, raising red flags for her family and for investigators.
“Through a lot of interviews, we’ve been able to determine that she never would have left her dog behind, that she was always with her dog, that she would literally cook her dog steak dinners before she ate, herself,” Detective Amanda Strider said.
Detective Strider said she has been investigating this from the start, and to her, Aja being left behind has been the biggest indication that something was very wrong.
“The more time that goes on with no contact, nobody’s seeing her, nobody hearing from her, that in and of itself leads us down the path to believe that something happened to her,” Strider said.
At this point, she said investigators are considering the fact that foul play was likely involved, now unable to rule out the possibility that Woolsey might not be alive.
Her family, though, is holding out hope.
They said Woolsey is known to have gone through some rough patches, but despite it, is known to have a heart of gold.
“She’s kind, she’s funny, she’s fearless… she’s very loved, very missed. She may not have felt it at all times. You know, I, myself, have gone the tough love route with her, given her struggles, but she’s always been loved,” Rossetti said. “She’d do anything for anybody, even if it puts her behind.”
Rossetti said if Woolsey is watching the coverage of her own disappearance, she hopes that message — that she is loved — comes across loud and clear.
“I don’t think she realizes how important she is to people,” she said.
So far, investigators said they cannot share any information about potential persons of interest or suspects in the case. They said they’ve pursued many avenues in the investigation and are now hoping for a little push.
“Maybe it’s a text message, a phone call, maybe it’s you saw her at a gas station, maybe you saw her at a grocery store,” Detective Strider said. “You might not think that it matters, but it could be the turning point for this case.”
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