CBI seeks tips after Trinidad man found dead in abandoned building
CBI is asking for tips after a Trinidad man was found dead in an abandoned building near Ludlow. Deputies responded to County Rd. 44 and County Rd. 61.5.
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The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is asking for public tips after a Trinidad man identified by the agency as James Hedges, born March 5, 1983, was found dead in an abandoned building in Las Animas County. Investigators said the circumstances appear suspicious, and the death is being treated as a case that still needs answers.
Deputies with the Las Animas County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched May 17, 2026, at about 1:42 p.m. to an abandoned building in the area of County Rd. 44 and County Rd. 61.5 after a visitor found the body. The site sits near the Ludlow Massacre Memorial Site, about 15 miles north of Trinidad, in a part of the county where isolated buildings and wide-open terrain can make it harder to track who has been coming and going.
CBI is asking anyone with information to call the Colorado Bureau of Investigation or the Las Animas County Sheriff’s Office at 719-846-2211 ext. 7. Residents who were near the area should pay close attention to details that may seem small but can matter in a rural case like this, including vehicles parked near abandoned structures, people seen entering or leaving the property, unusual foot traffic, and any recent activity around the building at County Rd. 44 and County Rd. 61.5.
The location adds another layer of local significance. Las Animas County spans 4,772.9 square miles, making it Colorado’s largest county by land area, with a 2020 Census population of 14,555. In a county that large and sparsely populated, investigators often depend on residents, hunters, ranch workers, travelers, and anyone passing through to help fill in the gaps.
The discovery also took place near one of the county’s most significant historic sites. The Ludlow Massacre, which began April 20, 1914, in Las Animas County, killed 19 people, including women and children, and later drew congressional scrutiny and helped shape labor reforms. The Ludlow site is designated a National Historic Landmark, giving the area both historic weight and, now, renewed public-safety concern as authorities work to determine how Hedges died.
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