Local law enforcement still does not know who may have killed Dylan Douglas, a Durango man living homeless and believed murdered almost two years ago – and now a local nonprofit is raising money for a reward for information in connection with his death.
Douglas was last seen alive May 18, 2018, near Ella Vita Court in Durango. Durango Police Department discovered his decomposed remains June 27 in a wooded area about 400 yards from the nearest home in west Durango. Investigators have since “exhausted all the leads we have in that case,” said Cmdr. Ray Shupe.
But law enforcement does “think it is a solvable case,” he said. The police department cannot coordinate a reward, so instead it partnered with Community Compassion Outreach, a nonprofit working to help people survive and exit homelessness, to raise money to offer for information related to the suspected homicide.
Douglas lived homeless at the time of his death and was known to stay at a former designated site for people living homeless near the Durango Tech Center. The 48-year-old’s parents are dead, and all his children and siblings are estranged, said Donna Mae Baukat, executive director at Community Compassion Outreach.
Durango police struggled at the time of Douglas’ death to get information from people living homeless about the case, both Baukat and Shupe said. Law enforcement “processed quite a bit of physical evidence,” Shupe said.
“The victim’s body wasn’t discovered for a while, maybe 30 days,” Shupe said. “That typically complicates a case.”
Rewards often lead law enforcement to good information, he said. Police are looking for “anyone with any information, whoever may have seen him last, anyone who had contact, had known of any confrontations or anything that may lead us in the direction of solving this crime,” he said.
Anyone interested in donating to the Dylan Fund reward account can visit Bank of the San Juans to deposit cash, check or credit card payment to the “Dylan Fund Account.” Checks can be made payable to Community Compassion Outreach, and donations are accepted through PayPal.
“We’re trying to garner cooperation and help,” Shupe said. “At the end of the day, we have a victim out there and we need to seek justice.”
bhauff@durangoherald.com