Be careful of crazies out there. "Hatchet Man," arrested for threatening people with a hatchet in Woodland Park, is now being investigated for a double murder.
A man was arrested of allegedly threatening people on a trail with a hatchet. Daniel Nations, 31, was arrested on Monday, September 25, and booked into Teller County Jail. According to Jacqueline Kirby, the media relations officer with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, Nations was arrested on a charge of possession of a weapon by a previous offender. Nations is currently still in the jail on a $10,000 bond. Kirby said the vehicle he was driving in Woodland Park, a red Chevrolet Prizm, matched the one described by individuals who had reported a man threatening them near Mount Herman Road and in the town of Monument on the weekend of September 15 and 16. The vehicle in question had expired Indiana license plates, which connected the matter to a whole other and rather serious double murder in Indiana.
Currently, in Indianapolis, police are attempting to make an arrest in the double murder of two teens. Abby (13) and Libby (14) were reported missing on February 13. The two teens were dropped off near the Monon High Bridge in Indiana to go hiking, but when a family member came to pick them up, they were nowhere to be found. Volunteers discovered their bodies near the Delphi Historic Trail on February 14.
It wasn't until July when Indiana State Police released a sketch of a suspect for the case. The individual was described as being 5'6" to 5'10" tall, and weighing between 180 and 220 lbs., with reddish brown hair.
With the erratic actions of Nations, the expired Indiana plates on the car, coupled with the description, the "Hatchet Man" was thrown in as a suspect for the murder. In response, Indiana State Police released this statement:
We are aware of the arrest of the person in Colorado and are investigating to see if he could be a suspect in the Delphi double murder investigation. Please keep in mind the Indiana State Police has received more than a thousand photos of persons alleged to be similar in appearance to the composite sketch of the Delphi person of interest. Each and every one of these tips are investigated for any potential connection to our case. We will give the same attention to the person arrested in Colorado, but right now there is nothing that definitively connects this person to our investigation. If that should change – with this tip, or any other tip – rest assured we would be sharing such news with all media sources.”The ISP also released:
Anyone with information about this case, no matter how insignificant, is encouraged to call the Delphi Homicide Investigation Tip Line at (844) 459-5786. Information can also be reported by calling the Indiana State Police at (800) 382-7537, or the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department at (765) 564-2413. Information can also be emailed to [email protected],” the ISP said.Clearly, it is not definite that Nations is in fact the Indiana culprit. Officers are still looking into the matter, along with several other suspects. However, Nations is guilty of threatening people with a hatchet here in Colorado and is locked away on the aforementioned $10,000 bail. Hopefully, the Indiana teens' murder will come to a head. In the meantime, people in El Paso County can feel a little safer hiking around sans "Hatchet Man."
