On a cool September morning in 2015, thirty-one-year-old Officer Piper Crumbede set out alone on a multi-day hike through the rugged backcountry of Rocky Mountain National Park. A decorated Denver Police Department officer known for her discipline and reliability, Piper was the kind of hiker who never took chances and always planned ahead.
That’s why her disappearance became one of the most haunting mysteries in Colorado history, a case that baffled investigators, broke her family’s hearts, and remained unresolved for years until an extraordinary discovery—a hidden SD card tucked inside her shoe—offered long-awaited answers. When Piper failed to return from her trip, alarm bells rang almost immediately. By September 14, she had missed a critical command staff briefing, and her colleagues knew something was wrong. Her parents, Jerick and Mna, explained that she had taken time off to decompress before a promotion, planning to hike solo and return by September 12. When calls went unanswered and her car was found untouched at the trailhead, the search began in earnest.
A massive operation was launched, with rangers, police officers, volunteers, helicopters, and dog teams covering hundreds of miles of dangerous terrain. Piper was an experienced hiker with tactical training, so there was hope she could survive if she were injured. Still, despite exhaustive efforts, no sign of her was found. Weeks passed, then months, and investigators were left with little more than speculation, including the theory that she may have attempted a risky climb. An important potential lead—the staff of the High Alpine Lodge near her route—was initially overlooked, a mistake that would later weigh heavily on the case.
As time dragged on, the official search was scaled back, though Piper’s parents kept private efforts alive. For nearly two years, no one knew what had become of her. Then, in July 2017, a breakthrough came. A field biologist surveying beetle damage stumbled upon a tattered tent, decayed gear, and a pair of hiking shoes deep in a remote section of the park. Inside one shoe, carefully hidden beneath the insole, was an SD memory card. Though waterlogged and badly degraded, the deliberate concealment suggested someone—likely Piper herself—had hidden it for safekeeping.
Forensic experts at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation worked tirelessly to extract information, and while no photos or videos could be recovered, fragments of GPS coordinates and timestamps survived. Those digital breadcrumbs led searchers to a limestone cave miles from where the gear had been found. There, they discovered a distinctive water bottle Piper’s family confirmed was hers. No remains or camera were located, but it was clear she had been inside the cave. The mystery deepened: why had her belongings been scattered so far away, and what had happened to her? Investigators revisited the High Alpine Lodge, where owner Quila Brasher initially claimed Piper had been seen with a man shortly before her disappearance.
Though Brasher later retracted the statement, it offered a small thread. In 2018, a new investigator cross-referenced wilderness experts with Piper’s police training records and landed on Vaughan Go, a local guide with experience in remote caves and a hidden felony robbery conviction. Suspicion grew when it was discovered he often led tours in the same areas Piper had explored. Undercover officers posing as rangers tracked him down and, during a tense operation on a narrow ridge, arrested him. Pressured by evidence and his own guilt, Go confessed. He admitted meeting Piper at the lodge, where they quickly bonded and decided to hike together. In a secluded cave, he revealed his criminal past.
Alarmed, Piper insisted on leaving, and a heated argument ensued. In his own words, he shoved her in frustration, causing her to fall and strike her head on a rock. Panicked, he fled. Piper, badly injured but still conscious, attempted to document her situation using her camera, then hid the SD card inside her shoe in case she didn’t survive. She tried to hike out but never made it. Later searches uncovered her remains beneath a rock overhang, tragically confirming his account. Go ultimately pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to twenty years in prison. For Piper’s parents, the discovery was devastating but provided the closure they had long been denied. Her case underscores the harsh realities of wilderness survival, even for someone as skilled and prepared as she was.
It also highlighted flaws in the original investigation, including missed opportunities at the lodge, but ultimately demonstrated the power of persistence and forensic ingenuity. The tiny SD card she left behind became the key that solved the mystery, a final act of resourcefulness from a woman who refused to let her story vanish with her. Piper Crumbede’s disappearance and the long road to uncovering the truth remain a sobering reminder of both the dangers of the wilderness and the resilience of those seeking justice.
