A Colorado cop who led the search for a teenager ahead of the 20th anniversary of the Columbine attack said she likely killed herself before the manhunt.
A Colorado undersheriff who led the search for a Florida teenager whose actions prompted tightened security at Columbine High School ahead of the 20th anniversary of an attack there that killed 13 people said she likely killed herself before police launched a massive manhunt.
Clear Creek County Undersheriff Bruce Snelling told The Denver Post that Sol Pais, 18, likely killed herself Monday evening. Her body was found in the snowy foothills west of Denver on Wednesday, and it appeared that she had been dead for more than 24 hours.
“She had no idea what occurred from late Monday afternoon to Tuesday when a search for her began and to Wednesday when her body was found,” Snelling said. “The logical likelihood was she was here to end her journey.”
A manhunt was launched Tuesday, the day after Pais traveled from Miami to Denver and bought a pump-action shotgun and two boxes of ammunition. FBI officials said they were concerned that she was planning an attack of her own because she was “infatuated” with the 1999 Columbine shooting.
Columbine, which is marking the 20th anniversary of the attack Saturday, locked its doors for several hours Tuesday as authorities combed the area for Pais, and hundreds of schools in the Denver area canceled classes Wednesday as the manhunt intensified.
