DENVER, Colo. — A southwest Colorado mother searching for her daughter. A Denver woman honoring her childhood friend. These are just some of the stories shared on the Colorado State Capitol steps Tuesday during the 10th annual Colorado Missing Persons Day.
Currently, 676 Coloradans are missing, some for months, others for decades.
"It's really a day of remembrance for the families to be able to think of their loved one and, you know, kind of have that memorial that they maybe never had in these particular cases," explained Audrey Simkins with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Family, friends and advocates read the names of the 676 Coloradans missing in the state for a year or more.
Colorado Missing Persons Day was also a chance for families to connect with investigators, lawmakers, and others who are going through similar situations.
CBI also took DNA samples from loved ones who think it could help solve their case.
At the end of Wednesday’s remembrance event, family and friends released bright yellow flowers and bubbles as symbols of hope that someone will come forward with information.
“I wish I could put into words how torturous of an experience this is for family and friends of missing persons,” Paisen said. "These folks need answers as to what happened.”
Laura Saxton started Missing Persons Day in Colorado in 2016, falling on Feb. 4 each year — the day her daughter, Kelsie Schelling, was last seen in 2013. Schelling was pregnant at that time.
Her ex-boyfriend, Donthe Lucas was found guilty of her murder in 2021, but Schelling's body has never been found.
Sarah Skiba, Paul Skiba and Lorenzo Chivers
Lindsay Paison was just 5 years old when her friend, 9-year-old Sarah Skiba, vanished along with her father Paul and his employee Lorenzo Chivers.
The trio disappeared on Feb. 7, 1999 after signs of a struggle at Skiba’s moving company Tuff Movers. Their bodies have not been found and neither has a suspect.
The case remains unsolved.
“That sparked my interest as I grew up and kind of got out in the career field,” Paison said.
Now a private investigator, she continues to honor them by advocating for other missing Coloradans, including Kali Resseguie, who has been missing since Dec. 31, 2022.
Kali Resseguie
"She was last seen in Littleton, we think, at the Mineral Light Rail Station, and after that, the trail goes cold," Paison said.
That was the last known contact any family or friends had with Kali, who was 33 years old when she went missing. No one has heard from her since.
Paison believes her disappearance has not been prioritized by local law enforcement — a frustration shared by many families at the event.
“[Law enforcement doesn’t] have a sense of urgency when it comes to folks who may be living in the homeless community or who may be dealing with substance abuse or mental health issues,” Paison said. "These folks get swept under the rug.”
Christina Sanchez
Agnes Sanchez knows that feeling well. Her daughter Christina Sanchez has been missing for nearly a year.
Christina, who was 52 years old at the time of her disappearance, was last seen in Trinidad sometime in late April 2025.
According to Sanchez, Christina struggled with her mental health.
“[Trinidad Police] did... two searches by the river and by the hospital,” Sanchez said. “With my family and friends, we probably have done at least eight searches all around the Trinidad area.”
The family has exhausted all possible leads, which is why Sanchez drove nearly six hours from southwestern Colorado for the missing persons event.
"If you're not in their face all the time, they lose interest. And so, I think the way that we have to just keep doing (this) is keep putting those faces out there, putting the names out there," Sanchez said.
Below is CBI's full list of people missing in the state as of Feb. 4, 2026.
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