The alleged attack of a Colorado park ranger unleashed chaos across an entire community, including shutting down a state park, locking down schools, and deploying SWAT and air support.
Colorado park ranger calls in his own stabbing
But investigators now say the shocking tale was nothing more than an “elaborate hoax,” and the ranger at the center of it all is facing a stack of felony charges.
Callum Heskett, 26, a seasonal ranger with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, has been criminally charged after officials determined the incident was staged.
Prosecutors say he orchestrated a fake attack, allegedly stabbing himself before spinning a story that triggered a massive law enforcement response.
His charges include attempting to influence a public servant, tampering with evidence, reckless endangerment, obstructing government operations, second-degree official misconduct, and falsely reporting to authorities.
The ordeal began Tuesday morning around 9:30 a.m., when Heskett used his radio to call for urgent backup from inside Staunton State Park.
According to an arrest affidavit, he claimed over the radio that he was “attacked and stabbed” while patrolling the Old Mill Trail.
Another park employee heard Heskett through the radio making frantic remarks like “Get back” and “He’s fighting me,” before Heskett abruptly reported that the suspect had fled.
Heskett described the supposed assailant as a white man, six feet tall, weighing about 200 pounds, dressed in a gray shirt and blue jeans.
Colorado park ranger causes community havoc
When sheriff’s deputies arrived, they found Heskett kneeling in the grass beside a service road, clutching a pocketknife with a blade estimated at 3 to 4 inches.
The knife, authorities noted, was protruding from his lower abdomen.
Emergency crews rushed him by helicopter to a nearby hospital, while dozens of law enforcement officers swept into the area to search for the alleged suspect.
The park was quickly evacuated and closed to the public, surrounding neighborhoods were placed under lockdown, and residents received a “Lookout Alert” warning of a dangerous fugitive in the area.
The manhunt escalated rapidly. Jefferson County deployed its SWAT unit, tactical drone teams, and even enlisted the Colorado State Patrol’s aircraft division to assist in the aerial search.
“During that time, two people of interest were detained, interviewed, and determined to have no involvement,” investigators later confirmed.
Authorities said the wide-ranging man-hunt created a ripple effect, tying up resources across the county.
“The mobilization of these resources significantly disrupted the involved agencies’ ability to respond to other calls for service,” the arrest affidavit noted.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office initially warned residents that the incident may have been a “targeted attack.”
Social media updates urged caution while pledging investigators were working around the clock.
“Please know that our investigators are working diligently on this case, and based on everything we know at this time, this was a targeted incident. We are confident there is no ongoing threat to the public,” the agency wrote.
Investigators notice inconsistencies in report
But even as those statements went out, suspicions were mounting.
Detectives reviewing Heskett’s account began to notice glaring irregularities.
Officials said “inconsistencies in Heskett’s statements emerged” and “conflicting and questionable evidence” raised immediate red flags.
According to the affidavit, Heskett initially told deputies he stumbled upon a man crouching near a tree.
He claimed the man charged him, shouting “F— the police,” and tackled him to the ground, stabbing him with his own knife in the struggle.
Heskett also insisted he managed to deploy pepper spray, forcing the suspect to flee into the woods.
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Yet the physical evidence didn’t match. No injury to the back of Heskett’s head was observed, even though he claimed the suspect had punched him there.
Deputies noted his uniform was conspicuously free of grass or dirt despite his claim of wrestling on the ground.
Body camera footage further undermined the story. Investigators say the video captured Heskett calmly holding the knife in one hand while texting with the other.
He was even seen recording with his cellphone during the supposed emergency.
At the hospital, medical staff confirmed the knife wound was shallow, measuring only 1 to 1.5 inches deep.
DNA swabs were taken from Heskett, and during questioning he shifted his account again, telling detectives the suspect wore a glove.
Investigators also uncovered disturbing search history on Heskett’s iPhone.
Records showed he looked up phrases such as “how deep are arteries in lower abdomen,” “arteries in abdomen map,” and “abdominal anatomy.”
One particularly bizarre search read, “$1mil for each time you get stabbed,” according to the affidavit.
By Thursday, the sheriff’s office dropped the bombshell announcement: the ranger who claimed he was attacked had actually fabricated the entire story.
“Today, we arrested what we thought to be the victim in our stabbing from Staunton State Park,” Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jacki Kelley told Denver7.
“He was arrested as a suspect after he created an elaborate hoax to involve himself in what turned out to be a self-inflicted wound.”
Even when confronted, Heskett reportedly denied stabbing himself.
After being treated at the hospital, he was booked into the Jefferson County Jail, where his bond was set at $10,000.
