Grim Details Emerge as Colorado Father Is Charged in Murder of Missing Son

LA PLATA COUNTY, Colo. — Nearly five years after a 13-year-old boy vanished during a court-ordered Thanksgiving visit with his father in southwestern Colorado, authorities announced an arrest that marked a major breakthrough in one of the state’s most haunting child disappearance cases.

Mark Redwine was arrested Saturday in Bellingham, Washington, and is facing extradition to Colorado after a La Plata County grand jury indicted him on charges of second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death in the killing of his son, Dylan Redwine. The La Plata County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the arrest in a press release, stating that Redwine is being held on a $1 million cash-only bond.

Redwine has previously denied any involvement in his son’s death. As of the arrest, it was unclear whether he had retained legal counsel or entered a plea.

Dylan disappeared in November 2012 while visiting his father at Redwine’s home in Bayfield, Colorado, as part of a court-ordered custody arrangement. The visit followed a contentious divorce and ongoing custody dispute between Redwine and Dylan’s mother, Elaine Hall, who lived in Colorado Springs.

According to the indictment, Dylan had expressed reluctance about the visit. Witnesses told investigators the boy did not want to go to his father’s home that Thanksgiving, citing tension during a previous visit that had involved an argument between father and son.

Surveillance video obtained during the investigation showed Mark Redwine picking up Dylan at the Durango–La Plata County Airport, where the boy had arrived after flying from his mother’s home. Additional footage from a nearby store the pair visited afterward revealed what investigators described as “little to no personal interaction” between the two, according to the grand jury indictment and the sheriff’s office.

“Dylan Redwine was never seen or heard from again after that evening,” the indictment states.

Investigators said Dylan had made plans to stay with a friend on the night he arrived in Bayfield, but his father denied permission. The boy then arranged to meet another friend early the following morning. When Dylan failed to show up, the friend sent him a text message asking, “Where are you?” according to court records.

Redwine told investigators that his son was inside the home when he left to run errands around 7:30 a.m. the next morning. He said that when he returned approximately four hours later, Dylan was gone. A search was launched that same day after Hall reported her son missing.

The case drew national attention as law enforcement agencies, volunteers, and search-and-rescue teams scoured the rugged terrain surrounding Vallecito Reservoir and Middle Mountain near Redwine’s home. Despite extensive efforts, no trace of Dylan was found for months.

In June 2013, search teams discovered partial remains belonging to Dylan on Middle Mountain, confirming the boy was dead. His skull was not found until late 2015, when hikers discovered it nearly two miles away from the earlier recovery site. Prosecutors later alleged that the remains had been deliberately scattered.

The indictment outlines a history of concerning behavior attributed to Mark Redwine. A former wife, Betsy Horvath, told investigators shortly after Dylan’s disappearance that she feared Redwine may have harmed the boy. Horvath said that during their own divorce and custody dispute, Redwine told her he would “kill the kids before he let her have them,” according to court documents.

Prosecutors argue that circumstantial evidence, witness statements, and forensic findings collectively point to Redwine’s responsibility for his son’s death. While authorities have not publicly detailed the exact cause of death, they maintain the evidence supports the murder and child abuse charges.

The arrest marked a significant moment for Dylan’s family, who had spent years seeking answers. In previous interviews, Hall said the uncertainty surrounding her son’s disappearance had been unbearable. “You don’t ever stop waiting,” she said in an earlier statement. “You don’t ever stop hoping for the truth.”

Law enforcement officials emphasized that the case was built over years of careful investigation. “This arrest is the result of persistent work and dedication to seeking justice for Dylan,” the sheriff’s office said.

As Redwine awaits extradition, the case now moves into the court system, where prosecutors will attempt to prove what happened during that Thanksgiving visit in 2012. For a community and a family long haunted by unanswered questions, the charges represent a step toward accountability in a case defined by loss, suspicion, and years of silence.