A La Plata County Sheriff's deputy was discovered on Oct. 13 with a gunshot wound inside his burning home.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation said evidence suggests Jeremiah Lee, 42, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
La Plata County Coroner Jann Smith oversaw an autopsy conducted this week. A final ruling on the cause of death is expected to take up to six weeks.
An account for his three children has been established at First National Bank of Durango's Bayfield office.
"The Sheriff's Office and many in our community are mourning the loss of Jeremiah Lee," the office said in a news release Tuesday. "Jeremiah was a member of the Sheriff's Office for almost two years and served with the Durango Police Department for 18 years prior to that. Jeremiah was assigned as a patrol deputy during his tenure with the Sheriff's Office."
Lee was being investigated by the Sheriff's Office and resigned three days before his death. According to the release, during the first week of October, Lee provided some information to the Sheriff's Office about a personal situation in his life, and they started an administrative investigation. The Sheriff's Office also requested the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to assist with the investigation.
On Tuesday, Oct. 10, Deputy Lee submitted a letter of resignation, effective immediately, to the Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Sean Smith requested that a Sheriff's Office Crisis Intervention Team member contact Lee on Thursday to check on his welfare. The team member made contact with Lee at 9:15 p.m., and reportedly, the conversation went well and the men made arrangements to meet for lunch in the near future. Shortly after midnight on Friday, Oct. 13, Lee's home on CR 516 was reported to be on fire and Lee was found inside the home and unresponsive. As CBI was already involved, Smith requested that the agency take the lead in Lee's death investigation as well.
"Jeremiah Lee was a lifelong resident of La Plata County and will be deeply missed by all those that knew him," according to the news release. "Jeremiah was a father, a son, a brother, a friend, and a law enforcement officer that served his community for 20 years."
Lee's family members have not responded to requests for interviews.
Heather Hill of Aztec, who grew up with Lee in the Elmore's Corner area, remembered him as a good friend and talented wrestler and football player at Durango High School.
"He was just always amazing to me," she said. "He was a good guy. His smile would light up a room, and I loved his laugh."
During one Durango football game, she remembered he severely injured or broke his ankle, and he kept playing the rest of the game.
Being a police officer and helping people was the perfect career choice for him, she said.
In February, Lee was named the Colorado Cattlemen's Law Enforcement Officer of the Year. He was nominated for the award by the La Plata-Archuleta Cattlemen's Association.
Lee also raised cattle, and his children raised champion 4-H animals, including rabbits and poultry. He enjoyed fishing with his children, as well.
In August, he brought his youngest son to the Pine River Times office to have the boy's picture taken with a huge rainbow trout he had just caught in a local ditch.
Neither the son nor the father would tell which ditch the fish came from.
In all, it took 19 firefighters and 12 fire trucks to put out the fire early Friday morning. Los Pinos Fire District and the Durango Fire Protection District also provided assistance. The home is a complete loss, according to Upper Pine Fire.
Herald reporter Jonathan Romeo contributed to this report.
For help
Help for people having suicidal thoughts or for those who fear a person is considering suicide can be found from these sources:
Axis Health System:
24-hour hotline at 247-5245.
National Suicide Prevention Hotline:
(800) 273-TALK (8255).
RED Nacional de PrevencióN Del Suicidio:
(888) 628-9454.
National Crisis text Hotline:
741741
Boys Town Hotline:
(800) 448-3000.
Safe2Tell Colorado:
(877) 542-7233 or online at https://safe2tell.org.
Colorado Crisis Support Line:
(844) 493-8255. The line has mental-health professionals available to talk to adults or youths about any crisis.
Second Wind Fund:
(720) 962-0706. This is not a crisis hotline, but the fund is available to youths who face social or financial barriers to crisis counseling. The organization requires a referral by a school counselor or mental-health professional.
