Southern Colorado shooting victims identified in Custer County triple homicide

Three people are dead and another has been critically injured after a shooting Monday afternoon in Custer County, Colorado, over a property dispute. 

Around 2:30 p.m. Monday afternoon, Custer County law enforcement issued a shelter-in-place order for the Rocky Ridge Road area in the northern part of Custer County, northeast of Westcliffe. It has since been lifted.

The suspect was identified by law enforcement as 45-year-old Hanme Clark. He’s believed to be driving a white Dodge truck, license plate BHLK27. The suspect and at least one of the victims were known to be in previous civil disputes over property lines and easements.

Law enforcement officials identified the victims as Rob Geers, Beth Wade and James Daulton. Patty Daulton was injured in the shooting.

Several agencies, including the Custer, Pueblo, and Fremont County Sheriff Offices and Colorado State Patrol responded to the scene for what law enforcement described as a “high-risk” situation.

Several hours later, authorities confirmed that a suspect had escaped the area and that two men and a woman were found dead. Another person, a woman, was airlifted to Colorado Springs and then subsequently to Denver with “multiple” gunshot wounds to the chest. 

As of Tuesday, Clark had still not been located.

Custer County is about 150 miles south of Denver.

Officers say they discovered that Clark’s truck had entered the parking lot of the Walmart in Salida and an occupant of the truck went inside and purchased several items. They then left the store and the truck went toward the Methodist Mountain residential area.

Clark also appears to be an accomplished mixed martial arts fighter in Colorado. A post from Pancrase MMA in Denver lists one of their fighters as Hanme Clark who uses the nickname “The Ruiner.” They list him as being 6’3″ and 185 pounds with a purple belt ll in Pancrase Mixed Martial Arts, black belt lll in Taekwondo and experience fighting in Kendo, a Japanese sword-fighting style. He also has several titles through Pancrase.

The organization also lists a news item on its website that reads, “Former Pancrase Student and Colorado MMA Fighter Wanted for Shooting 4,” which links to a Daily Mail story about Clark being sought by police.

In a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Custer County Sheriff Rich Smith said he requested the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service.

Court records show a man with the same name as Clark is a plaintiff in a property dispute in Custer County civil court. That case dates back to 2020 and is still open.

None of the victims in Monday’s shooting were named in that lawsuit and it wasn’t immediately clear if or how they were connected.