A 19-year-old Fort Carson soldier is accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman at a city park, according to Colorado Springs police.
Caden Meade was arrested Wednesday after investigators from the Colorado Springs Police Department connected his vehicle to a kidnapping and sexual assault in Quail Lake Park, officials said in a Thursday news release.
Records given to The Gazette by Fort Carson officials show Meade is a mechanic in the 4th Infantry Division for their artillery unit. He arrived at the Army base in June 2024 and recently became a private, on June 16.
" Fort Carson officials are cooperating with local law enforcement. We expect all soldiers to always uphold the Army values," Fort Carson officials said in an email Thursday.
Officers were dispatched to the park, located near the Broadmoor World Arena, around 1 a.m. June 8 after a report came in for a kidnapping. A woman told police she was at the park with a friend and was forced into a pickup truck on the way back to her car by an unknown man. The man allegedly raped her at knife point before letting her go, Dan Thompson, the commander of CSPD's investigations division, said during a Thursday news conference.
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Detectives from the Real Time Crime Center located a vehicle that matched images gathered during the investigation, and the department's crime lab was able to develop "key" evidence to create a DNA profile of the suspect. Further investigation revealed the truck belonged to Meade.
Investigators don't know if the assault was planned or at random. Thompson said there were indications that some of Meade's behaviors were "suspicious" in the days up to and after the incident, saying he was out in the middle of the night in different parts of the city on separate occasions. Because of this, police believe there could be other potential victims.
"Right now, there's no indication that there's an ongoing threat to the community. We believe Mr. Meade acted alone," Thompson said.
Meade is facing first-degree kidnapping, sexual assault and felony menacing charges. He is being held in the El Paso County jail.
"Like all persons arrested, Mr. Meade is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law," the news release read.
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In light of the situation, Thompson provided some safety tips for people walking around at night:
* Make sure you maintain situational awareness and what's going on around you.
* If something doesn't seem right, go with your gut feeling.
* Try to stay around other people.
* Always try to have another person with you.
Anyone with information of the incident or any additional victims are encouraged to call police at 719-444-7000. Thompson emphasized victims who speak out will be protected and given a "wrap around" service.
"These cases don't happen all that often, which makes it even more scary for our community. These cases become even more important because of that. Whenever you have this unknown factor of these scary threats and the unknown factor of it being such an abnormality within out community, it's important that our investigators get the best information possible," Thompson said.
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