In 2016, Kristal Reisinger Said She Was Raped, Then She Vanished In The Colorado Woods

Rumors surround the alleged sexual assault and disappearance of the 29-year-old mom, who went missing on July 13, 2016.

Kristal Reisinger [Saugauche County Sheriff's Office; Crestone Police Department]

Photo by: Kristal Reisinger [Saugauche County Sheriff's Office; Crestone Police Department]

Kristal Reisinger [Saugauche County Sheriff's Office; Crestone Police Department]

By: Mike McPadden

The last time anyone reported seeing 29-year-old Kristal Anne Reisinger was on July 13, 2016. Her disappearance occurred not long after she allegedly said she had been drugged and raped at a party. The search for Reisinger, and whoever may have possibly hurt her, has been ongoing ever since.

Reisinger reportedly endured a troubled and tumultuous childhood in Arizona. Once she grew up, she is said to have relocated to Denver in pursuit of a better life.

In 2011, Reisinger reportedly met the love of her life, Elijah Guana. Two years later, she gave birth to the couple’s daughter, Akasha.

Still, Reisinger allegedly found the urban environment of Denver “toxic” and, according to Guana, she set out on a quest for enlightenment that took her to the rural community of Crestone, the reported home of numerous spiritual seekers.

After Reisinger found an apartment in Crestone, Guana said the plan was for Akasha and him to join her once she got settled. Guana also said that he and Reisinger spoke together on the phone every day — until July 2016, when Reisinger suddenly could not be located.

Sheriff Dan Warwick of the Saguache County Sheriff’s Office said that Reisinger’s landlord filed the initial missing persons report after her rent went unpaid and she didn’t seem to be around.

So at first, Sheriff Warwick said, the police didn’t treat Reisinger as a typical missing person, but rather as someone who'd “just left.”

In the meantime, Guana and others close to Reisinger went to Crestone to search for her. Their efforts caught the cops’ attention. Authorities then undertook a more vigorous investigation, beginning with a search of Reisinger’s apartment.

Sheriff Warwick recalled nothing seeming out of place, noting that Reisinger’s clothes, cellphone, and computers were all on the premises.

Guana added, “She had just bought groceries the day before…. She would have to have gone out with absolutely nothing — not even her phone, not even her shoes. It really just doesn’t make any sense.”

According to ID's The Missing, some observers allegedly said they might have seen Reisinger on the outside of Crestone, following the local community’s monthly drum circle celebration of the full moon.

If Reisinger had attended the most recent drum circle, investigators said, she would have had to walk through dense, potentially very dangerous wilderness to get there. Regarding the rough terrain, Guana said, “It is so easy to not find something that is just a few feet away.”

Search teams, including canine units, reportedly scoured the area and turned up no clues.

According to Guana, his last phone conversation with Reisinger was extremely troubling. He said, “She was very disturbed, very upset. She told me people had drugged and raped her.”

Guana also said he thinks he knows what happened, stating, “The guys who were directly involved in Kristal’s rape have strong ties in a drug market that goes back and forth directly from Crestone to Denver. Kristal had made a decision to do something about it. She wanted them to be accountable for their actions and that’s when she went missing. I strongly believe she was murdered by those guys.”

Still, with no evidence, law enforcement has been unable to make any arrests.

Addressing rumors that someone may have disposed of Reisinger’s body by throwing her down a mine shaft, Sheriff Warwick said, “There are a lot of mines up there. That’s been a thing that’s been said in this county for a number of years — ‘Anyone comes up missing, check the mines.’”

Authorities have reportedly searched more than 60 mines in their efforts to find Reisinger and found nothing.

“I know there are people out there that know what happened to Kristal," Guana said. "I know they have some information that could help us bring her home or, at the very least, bring her murderers to justice.”

Reisinger is described standing five foot six and weighing 155 pounds. She has blue eyes. She was last seen with her hair styled in platinum blonde dreadlocks. Reisinger also has gauge earrings, a nose ring, and numerous distinctive tattoos all over her body.

A $20,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the closing of this case. If you know anything regarding the disappearance of Kristal Reisinger, please contact the Saguache County Sheriff’s Office at (719) 655-2544.

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