SCSO provides update on missing woman from Crestone area

Sheriff Warwick says it might be a ‘self-inflicted situation’

SAGUACHE — Although nothing definitive is known at this time, Saguache County Sheriff Dan Warwick said the whereabouts of Jenifer Ann Driver, who went by her spiritual name Mountain Sun, was still unknown.

Warwick provided an update on the missing person case last week. After an extensive search of the area where she was last seen plus an investigation into other factors, Warwick said, “It’s looking like this might be a self-inflicted situation.”

Driver was last seen in the North Crestone Campground area near Crestone on Oct. 16 and was reported missing to the Saguache County Sheriff’s Office (SGSO) on Oct. 29. At that time, it was believed that she might have left the campground to hike to North Crestone Lake.

SCSO immediately issued a press release asking for anyone with information to contact their office and then launched an extensive search conducted both on foot and by helicopter in the area where Driver was reportedly last seen. The search turned up nothing — no clothing, no items that Driver allegedly had in her possession at the time she went missing, nothing indicating that she had been hiking in or through the area.

Further investigation revealed that, in the days preceding Oct. 16, Driver had been camping at the campground at the same time as a woman associated with the “Love Has Won” group, known to reside in the area. They had both exceeded the time they were allowed to camp on the property, and a local official had instructed them to move their campsites.

SCSO was able to get in touch with the woman last seen with Driver. The woman, who was in Pennsylvania, told SCSO that she and Driver had parted company when they were told to leave the campground, and she had not been in touch with her since.

That was the same area where SCSO Search and Rescue had already conducted their search.

After speaking with previous associates and friends, SCSO learned that Driver had indicated that she was planning on ending her life.

In response to a message on social media from a friend who was wishing her well, Driver wrote, “I will be leaving my body and going to my star system at the end of September. I stayed to get the most of my journey here but am tired of the upkeep of the vessel.”

Sheriff Warwick said the case will remain open until they find definitive evidence that tells them what happened to Driver.