By Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published October 9, 2008 at 11:24 a.m.
A bone found below a shed in Monte Vista appears not to be from a human, so may not be the hoped-for clue to solve the disappearance of a young mother in 2002.

Rio Grande County Sheriff Brian Norton said today that three doctors that looked at the bone said it looks like an animal bone to them. The final decision will be made after a radiologist looks at it at the El Paso County forensics lab, Norton said.

Rio Grande County investigators are still hoping the accidental discovery of a trapdoor -- below which not only the bone, but an old missing-person poster and old newspapers were found -- could help solve a 6-year-old missing-person case.

Danice Day was just 19, and the mother of two, when she disappeared in January of 2002.

Her boyfriend, Victor Braun, now 32, was a suspect and remains a "person of interest" in the case, Undersheriff Charles Chick said today.

Braun had lived with his parents in a house in Monte Vista at the time of Day's disappearance.

Recently, the new owners of that home decided to build a cedar fence and to move a shed or out-building from the yard, Chick said.

"They found a trapdoor in the bottom of the shed, and a place where it was dug out underneath."

When investigators took a look they found a hole 41/2 feet deep, five feet wide and eight feet long — what looked like a trash pit.

They carefully dug, shovel by shovel, and found empty alcohol containers, an old chair, Christmas lights, a poster on Day's disappearance and some old newspapers from that era, Chick said.

And then. "Sifting through, each shovelful, we actually found a bone," he said.

The Rio Grande Coroner couldn't tell if it was a human or an animal bone, so he brought it to the forensics pathologist in El Paso County.

They were hoping that if it was a human bone, further DNA analysis could help identify it.

Chick said the bone is three inches long and two inches wide, with an unusual curvature.

He said he is pursuing every lead in the Day disappearance.

"This is a care where we've got a family that is missing a daughter," he said.

Factors that could point to a homicide rather than a voluntary disappearance include the fact that when Day disappeared she left her two children behind, left her purse, her cell phone and her car.

This is not the first time an excavation provided hope of solving the case. In January, 2006, authorities dug at the site of a former gas station in Monte Vista and turned up a bone thought to be human, but it proved to be a false lead.

Since Day's disappearance, Victor Braun spent at least a year in jail and now is out on bond on numerous charges of burglary, theft and possession of cocaine. His list of charges goes back to 1994, when he was 18, and numbers in the dozens.

His father, Vern, is out on bond on numerous charges, including auto theft, Chick said.

Father and son live in a house in Monte Vista.

Day's two children were of two different fathers. The child she had with Braun is being raised by Braun, with help, Chick said.

Braun did not return a telephone call seeking comment.

Sheriff Norton said he is hoping the other things found in the pit can be helpful in the case. "We've been investigating since 2002. We're dedicated to getting some answers and locating her."

Rio Grande County often goes years between homicides, Chick noted.

"We're not going to give up on this," he said. "We're hard set on uniting this girl, one way or another, back with her family," whom he described as "wonderful people."

Chick urges anyone with information to call him at 719-657-4000.

Posted by jacqui at 07:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Recently, there were two new articles published about Danice's case. Please see the following links for details:
9News in Colorado:
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=101424&catid=339
MONTE VISTA - A bone fragment, a chair and a hidden trapdoor may lead the Rio Grande Sheriff's Department to answers about a woman who's been missing since 2002.AdvertisementDanice Day disappeared from Monte Vista in 2002. She was 19 years old with two children.Recently, the new owners of a home that Day's boyfriend’s parents' had owned, moved a shed to build a fence. Beneath the shed, they found a hidden trapdoor with an 8-feet by 5-feet by 4-and-a-half feet hole.
"It appears to be a trash pit," said Rio Grande Sheriff Brian Norton.
Sheriff’s investigators took nearly four hours to sift through the hole. They found a chair, a rusted step ladder to get into the hole, a missing poster of Danice Day, a newspaper article from September of 2002 and a bone fragment.
Day disappeared on January 9, 2002.
Sheriff’s investigators have sent the bone fragment, which is 2 inches by 3 inches, to the El Paso County lab to determine whether it is human and if so, if it’s related to Day in any way.
Her boyfriend, Victor Braun, is still listed as a “person of interest” in the case. He was recently released from the Rio Grande jail after burglary and bad check convictions.
Day's extended family has kept searching for her through the years. They maintain the daniceday.com Web site. 9NEWS has done stories on Day in the past.
"Any lead on this case we get, we’re going to follow," said Sheriff Norton.
(Copyright KUSA*TV, All Rights Reserved)

7News in Colorado:
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/17661151/detail.html?rss=den&psp=news
Bone Found May Be Break In Danice Day Case
Monte Vista Mother Disappeared 6 Years Ago
October 8, 2008
MONTE VISTA, Colo. -- Investigators say a bone fragment was found outside a Monte Vista home linked to a woman who disappeared more than six years ago, but they don't know whether it is human.
The Rio Grande County Sheriff's Department said Tuesday the 3-inch-long fragment was found in a compartment below a trap door in the floor of an old shed.
The current resident at the home, once belonging to Vernon and Bonnie Braun, called the sheriff's office when the shed was being removed and a hidden compartment was found beneath it.
The adult son of the Brauns, Victor Braun, was living with Danice Lea Day, 19, when she mysteriously disappeared in January 2002. He told investigators she left "with friends," leaving behind her purse, car and clothing.
Victor Braun is still listed as a "person of interest" in the case.
Deputies said the El Paso County coroner will determine whether the bone is human and will try to get DNA from it.
Deputies said drug paraphernalia and empty liquor bottles were also found in the hidden space below the trap door.
A bone possibly linked to Day was discovered two years ago from a vacant lot in Monte Vista that was once occupied by a gas station owned by Vernon Braun. The bone was sent to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, but the analysis was inconclusive.
Day, a single mother of two children, worked at the Dos Rios restaurant in Monte Vista at the time she disappeared.
Monte Vista is 160 miles south of Denver.
Alamosa Courier:
http://www.alamosanews.com/V2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=72&story_id=9713
Bone found in MV 'dugout'
Wednesday, Oct 8th, 2008
A bone found beneath an old shed behind this home in Monte Vista is the latest potential break in the disappearance of Danice Day, 19, who went missing Jan. 9, 2002. The residence once belonged to Vernon and Bonnie Braun, parents of Victor Braun, a “person of interest’ in the case.
MONTE VISTA — Local authorities may have caught a break in the investigation of missing Monte Vistan Danice Day.
The possible break in the Day investigation occurred the first part of October when a homeowner in Monte Vista began to install a fence and found a structure that seemed suspicious.
Rio Grande County Undersheriff Chuck Chick said the current resident at a home once belonging to Vernon and Bonnie Braun called his office when a shed was being removed and a compartment was found beneath it. Chick said the shed had a trapdoor in the floor and that door led to a “dugout” that contained drug paraphernalia, empty liquor bottles — and a bone.
Chick said the bone is about three inches long and could be human, but the El Paso County Coroner will make that call.
Various newspaper articles were also found in the dugout, but they did not seem to be connected, Chick said, adding that the sides of the hole had fallen in and investigators had to dig into it.
The home was sold by Bonnie (Braun) Glover on Nov. 18, 2002.
Danice Day was 19 years old on Jan. 9, 2002 when she went missing from her home near Monte Vista.
Glover’s son, Victor Braun, the man Day was living with, told investigators that she had “gone out with friends” and hadn’t returned, leaving behind her car, purse, cell phone, clothing - and her two small children.
Foul play was suspected almost from the beginning, since relatives said Day would never leave her children behind and she did not take her purse with her.
Today, more than six years later, investigators are still following up on every possible lead.
Rewards are still available for anyone who will provide information as to the woman’s whereabouts. Phone Chick at 657-4000.

Posted by jacqui at 11:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Recently, there were two new articles published about Danice's case. Please see the following links for details:
9News in Colorado:
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=101424&catid=339
MONTE VISTA - A bone fragment, a chair and a hidden trapdoor may lead the Rio Grande Sheriff's Department to answers about a woman who's been missing since 2002.AdvertisementDanice Day disappeared from Monte Vista in 2002. She was 19 years old with two children.Recently, the new owners of a home that Day's boyfriend’s parents' had owned, moved a shed to build a fence. Beneath the shed, they found a hidden trapdoor with an 8-feet by 5-feet by 4-and-a-half feet hole.
"It appears to be a trash pit," said Rio Grande Sheriff Brian Norton.
Sheriff’s investigators took nearly four hours to sift through the hole. They found a chair, a rusted step ladder to get into the hole, a missing poster of Danice Day, a newspaper article from September of 2002 and a bone fragment.
Day disappeared on January 9, 2002.
Sheriff’s investigators have sent the bone fragment, which is 2 inches by 3 inches, to the El Paso County lab to determine whether it is human and if so, if it’s related to Day in any way.
Her boyfriend, Victor Braun, is still listed as a “person of interest” in the case. He was recently released from the Rio Grande jail after burglary and bad check convictions.
Day's extended family has kept searching for her through the years. They maintain the daniceday.com Web site. 9NEWS has done stories on Day in the past.
"Any lead on this case we get, we’re going to follow," said Sheriff Norton.
(Copyright KUSA*TV, All Rights Reserved)

7News in Colorado:
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/17661151/detail.html?rss=den&psp=news
Bone Found May Be Break In Danice Day Case
Monte Vista Mother Disappeared 6 Years Ago
October 8, 2008
MONTE VISTA, Colo. -- Investigators say a bone fragment was found outside a Monte Vista home linked to a woman who disappeared more than six years ago, but they don't know whether it is human.
The Rio Grande County Sheriff's Department said Tuesday the 3-inch-long fragment was found in a compartment below a trap door in the floor of an old shed.
The current resident at the home, once belonging to Vernon and Bonnie Braun, called the sheriff's office when the shed was being removed and a hidden compartment was found beneath it.
The adult son of the Brauns, Victor Braun, was living with Danice Lea Day, 19, when she mysteriously disappeared in January 2002. He told investigators she left "with friends," leaving behind her purse, car and clothing.
Victor Braun is still listed as a "person of interest" in the case.
Deputies said the El Paso County coroner will determine whether the bone is human and will try to get DNA from it.
Deputies said drug paraphernalia and empty liquor bottles were also found in the hidden space below the trap door.
A bone possibly linked to Day was discovered two years ago from a vacant lot in Monte Vista that was once occupied by a gas station owned by Vernon Braun. The bone was sent to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, but the analysis was inconclusive.
Day, a single mother of two children, worked at the Dos Rios restaurant in Monte Vista at the time she disappeared.
Monte Vista is 160 miles south of Denver.
Alamosa Courier:
http://www.alamosanews.com/V2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=72&story_id=9713
Bone found in MV 'dugout'
Wednesday, Oct 8th, 2008
A bone found beneath an old shed behind this home in Monte Vista is the latest potential break in the disappearance of Danice Day, 19, who went missing Jan. 9, 2002. The residence once belonged to Vernon and Bonnie Braun, parents of Victor Braun, a “person of interest’ in the case.
MONTE VISTA — Local authorities may have caught a break in the investigation of missing Monte Vistan Danice Day.
The possible break in the Day investigation occurred the first part of October when a homeowner in Monte Vista began to install a fence and found a structure that seemed suspicious.
Rio Grande County Undersheriff Chuck Chick said the current resident at a home once belonging to Vernon and Bonnie Braun called his office when a shed was being removed and a compartment was found beneath it. Chick said the shed had a trapdoor in the floor and that door led to a “dugout” that contained drug paraphernalia, empty liquor bottles — and a bone.
Chick said the bone is about three inches long and could be human, but the El Paso County Coroner will make that call.
Various newspaper articles were also found in the dugout, but they did not seem to be connected, Chick said, adding that the sides of the hole had fallen in and investigators had to dig into it.
The home was sold by Bonnie (Braun) Glover on Nov. 18, 2002.
Danice Day was 19 years old on Jan. 9, 2002 when she went missing from her home near Monte Vista.
Glover’s son, Victor Braun, the man Day was living with, told investigators that she had “gone out with friends” and hadn’t returned, leaving behind her car, purse, cell phone, clothing - and her two small children.
Foul play was suspected almost from the beginning, since relatives said Day would never leave her children behind and she did not take her purse with her.
Today, more than six years later, investigators are still following up on every possible lead.
Rewards are still available for anyone who will provide information as to the woman’s whereabouts. Phone Chick at 657-4000.

This is good news because it means there is still hope and investigators are still working on the case.

Posted by jacqui at 09:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)