Fiancé of missing mother Kelsey Berreth arrested, charged with murder

WOODLAND PARK, Colo. (KDVR) -- The fiancé of a missing Woodland Park mother who has not been seen since Thanksgiving was arrested and charged with first-degree murder on Friday morning, the Teller County Sheriff's Office said.

Patrick Frazee, 32, was earlier said to be cooperating in the case of 29-year-old Kelsey Berreth, who was last seen on Nov. 22 at a grocery store in Woodland Park, northwest of Colorado Springs. The couple share a 1-year-old daughter.

Frazee's attorney Jeremy Loew said his client was arrested at his home in Florissant without incident about 7 a.m. Frazee has been been charged with first-degree murder and solicitation to commit first-degree murder.

Police only said that because of multiple interviews, they were able to arrest Frazee. They said they had evidence that led them to believe Berreth was killed inside her home. Additional charges could be filed, officials said.

An official said the arrest warrant that was executed is sealed until the investigation is completed. Frazee was booked into the Teller County Jail and is being held without bond.

The daughter, Kaley, has been taken into protective custody, police said.

Police said at a morning news conference that Berreth's body has not been found but the investigation has narrowed their search. They did not speculate where the body might be.

Frazee previously told police he last saw Berreth on Thanksgiving when he picked up their daughter, making him the last known person to report seeing her alive.

Police said they have surveillance video of Berreth, a flight instructor, shopping with her daughter that day at a Woodland Park Safeway store.

Berreth's employer got a text from her phone on Nov. 25, saying she wouldn't be able to work that week, police said. Frazee also said she texted him that day, but the contents of that text haven't been released.

Police began searching for Berreth on Dec. 2 when her mother, Cheryl, told police about her daughter's disappearance.

Berreth's phone was tracked to a location near Gooding, Idaho, about 800 miles from Woodland Park. It has not been found.

Frazee released his phone to be searched and allowed officers to take a DNA sample on Dec. 12, his lawyer said.

A search warrant was executed at Frazee's Florissant property on Dec. 14 by 75 officers.