GUILTY CO - Tristen Hagen, 15, Canon City, 2 April 2011

Police classify missing CañonCity, Colo. teen a runaway; family finds his body

Cañon City City Police Monday said they are investigating the death of a missing 15-year-old boy whose body was found by his family during a search Monday; the boy was initially classified by police as a runaway.

Fremont County Coroner Dr. Dorothy Twellman released the name of the teen Tuesday, The Mountain Mail reports. Tristen Daniel Hagen went missing April 2 and was found at around 5:30 p.m. Monday evening by family members searching atop a ridge near Skyline Drive in Cañon City.

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Concern was raised that it took police 48 hours to search for this boy because they believed he was a runaway. In missing teen cases it is customary for police departments to wait until the child has been missing for at least 48 hours before they begin searching or investigating their cases.

More: http://www.examiner.com/missing-per...ity-colo-teen-a-runaway-family-finds-his-body

Questions linger in death of teen in Canon City

There are still many unanswered questions surrounding the death of a teenager in Canon City. An autopsy was performed today on the 15-year old, but the results haven't been released yet. The teenager was found dead Monday evening on Skyline Drive, a day after he went missing.

Police say the boy may have developed with a relationship with a woman, who's a family friend. Officers don't believe she had any direct connection to his death, but could have something to do with why he ran away.

More: http://www.newsfirst5.com/news/questions-linger-in-death-of-teen-in-canon-city/

30-year-old woman arrested after 15-year-old boy commits suicide

The suicide of a 15-year-old boy led to the arrest of a 30-year-old woman in Cañon City today.

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The boy's death was ruled a suicide and the cause of death was determined to be an overdose from at least two prescription painkillers, Cooper said.

Following the boy's death, an investigation revealed that the boy and his former baby sitter, Brenda Lynette Harding, may have had an inappropriate relationship, police said.

More: http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_17858885

Babysitter arrested after teen's suicide

[snip]

Canon City investigators believe Hagen killed himself based on a pattern of abuse. Harding admits to having a sexual relationship and falling in love with the teen. Affidavit reports show Harding was the teen's babysitter during the summer of 2010 and that June, the two had sex for the first time. Hagen was 14 and Harding was 29, at the time.

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"Right now, we don't have any other victims on the horizon. Our investigation isn't totally complete," Capt. Allen Cooper, Canon City Police Department.

More: http://www.coloradoconnection.com/news/story.aspx?id=606312

From October 2011:

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_19184971

Brenda Harding, accused of having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old boy who later committed suicide, on Monday was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 10 years to life on probation. She must also register as a sex offender.

District Court Judge Julie G. Marshall said she was not sentencing Harding, 30, for the boy's death. "While my heart goes out to the family in this case, I can't sentence her for his choice to kill himself," Marshall said. "I am sentencing her for sexual assault on a child"...

"Tristen could not deal with the relationship and the relationship ending, and within 24 hours Tristen was dead," LeDoux said. "This is the perfect illustration why we have these laws to protect young people in the community."

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