On Jan. 14, 2024, 34-year-old Kaysey Yoder allegedly walked away from her home just east of Eaton.
Despite a year-long investigation, a community of small towns that rallied around her and several alleged sightings, her family is still no closer to knowing what happened that cold afternoon.
Kaysey Yoder. She was last seen walking away from her house just east of Eaton on Jan. 14, 2024. (Courtesy/Tami Ruth)“We really are still sitting here with nothing,” said Kaysey’s mother, Tami Ruth.
Ruth had talked to Kaysey just an hour before her disappearance. She seemed just fine — so much so that when the call dropped, Ruth thought she’d call back a little later.
“She was in good spirits,” Ruth said. “I don’t understand what happened. Because she was fine when I was talking to her.”
Still a year later, when Ruth talks about her daughter — always in present tense — she lights up. Much like the effect she said Kaysey had on any room she entered.
“She had an infectious smile,” Ruth said. “She’d walk into a room and light up the whole thing.”
Ruth recounted how Kaysey had a habit as a child of going up to everyone in the grocery store and complimenting them one by one — something she took into her adult life, at least in part.
Kaysey Yoder and her mother, Tami Ruth. (Courtesy/Tami Ruth)“She made people feel good about themselves,” Ruth said.
She also reminisced on a time when waiting outside a fast-food restaurant, Kaysey started going around the parking lot picking up trash. It was a small gesture, but one that Ruth noticed has rubbed off on her from time to time.
“She’s got me doing it now, too,” Ruth said.
As Kaysey grew older, she took up roller skating. It was an activity she could do with her children.
Her oldest child, Payton, was born with microcephaly, a condition in which a baby’s head is much smaller than expected. He can’t walk without assistance, but Kaysey would push him in his wheelchair while skating.
Payton also can’t talk — beyond occasionally uttering “mom” or “I love you” when Kaysey was around — but seemed as if he was in his happy place when skating.
Kaysey Yoder with her oldest son, Payton. She would take him roller skating and push him in his chair. (Courtesy/Tami Ruth)“Payton loved skating with his mom,” Ruth said. “He would be laughing his head off. Felt like he was four-wheeling.”
Ruth remembers Kaysey as a loving mother, daughter and partner — but more than all else: a great friend.
“She’s the best daughter ever, best friend ever,” Ruth said. “She’s amazing. She got me going every single day.”
The Weld County Sheriff’s Office has been searching for Kaysey since her long-term boyfriend, Evan Tipton, reported her missing on Jan. 15. The agency scoured the area near her home by foot, K-9 and drone — as well as releasing “Be On Lookout” alerts to surrounding law enforcement agencies.
Since Kaysey’s disappearance, the sheriff’s office says it has received about 50 tips — including alleged sightings — but none have led to successfully locating her.
The time since her daughter was reported missing has been a whirlwind for Ruth.
She has been constantly searching for Kaysey herself, putting up as many posters as humanly possible and speaking with anyone and everyone who may have even the slightest inkling of what may have happened.
Ruth has heard all of the theories. And at this point she has no interest in any of them. They only get her mind racing.
Kaysey Yoder. Since her disappearance, her mother, Tami Ruth, hasn’t given up hope of finding her daughter. (Courtesy/Tami Ruth)“I’ve heard so many damn scenarios,” Ruth said. “I don’t want to get one in my head, then it’s wrong again. Because they just keep coming like that, and I get all these bad thoughts about what could’ve happened to Kaysey.”
The Sheriff’s Office has consulted the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and as of the last public update in October, does not believe a criminal act led to her leaving her home. The agency could not provide a more recent update, citing the open investigation.
And though many — including members of her own family — have begun to think the worst-case scenario, Ruth still hasn’t given up hope.
“In my heart as a mother, I still think she’s alive,” Ruth said. “She’s out there, and she’s waiting for me to find her.”
So that’s what Ruth will do: keep looking.
On Jan. 11, just three days short of the anniversary of her disappearance, a group of Kaysey’s friends and family gathered at the Weld Sheriff’s Office to remember her — and to make sure nobody else has forgotten.
“My daughter is unforgettable,” Ruth said. “You would never forget my kid. She’s too vibrant.”
Kaysey Yoder. She took up roller skating because she could skate with all her kids, including her oldest son, Payton, who is in a wheelchair. (Courtesy/Tami Ruth)Help with the case
Kaysey Yoder is 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighs about 110 pounds. She had platinum blonde hair at the time of her disappearance. Her family says her natural hair color is brunette and she often dyed it different vibrant colors.
The Weld Sheriff’s Office asks anyone with information on the case to contact Detective Brandon Stupka at 970-400-2832, or the county’s tip line at 970-304-6464 or crimetips@weld.gov.
If you see her, contact local authorities immediately.
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