A child abduction in Grand Junction last Wednesday afternoon lead police to Rifle where the child was eventually safely recovered and the suspect shot himself when found by police. On April 25th, 12-year-old Raeanna Rosencrans was observed by witnesses willingly getting into a vehicle. Police announced that 47-year-old Jody Haskin, the victim’s stepfather who has no parental rights, was a strong person of interest. Haskin is a registered sex offender who had a warrant out for his arrest for sex assault on a child. An Amber Alert was issued out of Grand Junction. The search lead police to Rifle on Thursday, April 26th, where shortly before 10pm law enforcement officers located the 12-year-old victim at the Rifle Walmart. Rifle Police reported that she appeared to be physically unharmed but was transported to the local hospital. At that time, police did not locate Jody Haskin and law enforcement continued to actively search the area for him. On Friday, Rifle Police announced that at 6:47am that morning, officers were searching for the wanted subject and encountered an adult male. Officers ordered him to drop his weapon and the man refused and shot himself. On Friday evening, the Garfield County Coroner’s Office issued a press release that identified the deceased man as Jody Haskin of Grand Junction. The coroner stated that the cause and manner of death will not be certified until toxicology results are available but that the office is investigating the cause of death as a gunshot wound of the head and the manner of death as suicide.
