Every Town - Suspicious Death Of Maggie Long - Bailey, CO

Episode Date: July 8, 2022

Was it a random homicide or a case of hate crime? Let’s head over to Bailey Colorado and learn more about the suspicious death of Maggie Long and its aftermath, which unfortunately still remains unsolved today.--------------------------------------------💀 Exclusive Video Content & Access: https://www.patreon.com/scarymysteries 🥇 Watch This Episode on Youtube!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-et99xMyaU&ab_channel=ScaryMysteries--------------------------------------------🎧 Scary Mysteries PodcastApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/scary-mysteries/id1273612861Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ZooEZMoZ421WdsOVJhVkTAll Others: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1235579 Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you love true crime, grab your favorite mug and pour yourself a dose of creepy true crime every single morning with a morning cup of murder. This short daily show is the perfect podcast to incorporate into your morning routine because in less than 15 minutes, you'll hear about a true crime that took place on a day's date in history. Each day's dark history lesson will kickstart your morning with intriguing tales of murder, abduction, serial killers, cults, and everything in between.

With over 20 million downloads, Morning Cup of Murder has something for every true crime lover. One listener describes the show as a small package with a powerful punch of crime. Another writes that the show is an absolute delight in the morning. Support yourself a piping hot cup of murder every single morning with Morning Cup of Murder. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to Everytown. Thank you guys so much for tuning into our podcast. If you guys enjoy listening to Everytown, then I wanted to let you know that there are always a video component to each episode over on our YouTube channel called Scary Mysteries. They're really well put together and put faces to the names, so you can always head over to our Scary Mysteries YouTube channel if you want to view them.

There's also two other videos that come out on our YouTube channel. each and every Monday and Wednesday, where we cover strange and creepy stories from all around the world. Those can also be listened to in podcast form on our other podcast channel called Scary Mysteries. We have tons of cool content for you all around. Thanks so much for the support and tuning in. Hope you enjoy the episode. Every town has a dark side. Even a relatively small town like Bailey in Park County, Colorado,

the population of less than 10,000 has its own share of crimes. The town's crime index is 85, which means it's safer than 85% of America's cities, which is why the horrible death of 17-year-old Asian-American Maggie Long was all that more jarring to the residents of this otherwise peaceful place. Maggie was an ideal student, loved by her family and friends, and she was murdered, then torched on a cold night back in December of 2017. I'm Andrew Fitzgerald and welcome to this week's episode of Everytown. Was it a random homicide or a case of a hate crime?

Let's head over to Bailey, Colorado and learn more about the suspicious death of Maggie Long and its aftermath, which unfortunately still remains unsolved today. The comfortable life of Maggie Long's family in America can be considered a success story brought about by sheer hard work couple with some luck. Her parents were born and raised in a Chinese community in northern Vietnam, and they decided to flee to the United States during the Vietnam War in the 1970s. In America, the Chinese couple settled into the mountain community of Bailey, Colorado,

and built a family with their three daughters, Connie, Lena, and Maggie, the youngest girl. Inherently hardworking, Mr. and Mrs. Long started from scratch, and were able to establish restaurants in the area through the years and the success of their businesses earned them respect and admiration within the community. In 2017, Maggie was a senior at Platt Canyon High School, located about 45 miles southwest of Denver, and she was set to graduate in the spring of 2018. Any parent would truly take pride in having a daughter like her,

for she was a dedicated and active student in school. The team was a straight A student who often studied at her parents' restaurants in between helping them with the operation. She was also active and extracurricular activities, particularly in stage acting. Maggie dabbled in school plays, spent her free time at the local theater, and became a part of the company at the venue theater and Conifer, located along U.S. Route 285 in the foothills west of Denver. Her sister Connie, who was six years older than her said, she was a very involved student. She had so many interests and just loved trying new things and being part of as much of life as she could. A young lady with a truly big heart, the youngest

among the long sisters, also did volunteer work and eagerly joined charitable endeavors that provided help to the less fortunate members of the community. In fact, It had been customary for Maggie to celebrate her birthday by giving out hundreds of sandwiches to the homeless people on the streets instead of throwing a party with family and friends. Like an angel, Maggie was described by her loved ones, as a shining light with an infectious smile who no one could say a bad word about. At school, her teachers and classmates would heap praises on Maggie as someone who was kind, genuine, and ambitious.

The type of person you only meet once in a lifetime. The well-loved girl was naturally shy, but she was passionate about acting and singing and wanted so badly to be a regular member of the venue theater company. She didn't mind cleaning the theater so she could earn a little extra money and afford to stay in the theater company. Nelson Conway, the managing director at the venue theater, said, she was a truly sweet and giving person,

respectful and kind. And Maggie would have reached her full potential as a theater performer, had it not been for fate intervening in her life and cutting it short. December 1st, 2017 was the start of a festive month from Maggie Long. She was 16 days away from celebrating her 18th birthday on December 17th. That day was a particularly busy one for her as she planned to go shopping with her sisters and helped in the annual holiday school concert at Plate Canyon High School. She was assigned to the VIP lounge, and true to her nature,

Maggie wanted to serve free snacks to the concert attendees. So at 3.30 p.m., she told friends she'd go get some supplies from home and we'll be back in about an hour. But Maggie was late for the concert's opening, yet the show would proceed without her. As the clock ticked, her teachers and friends grew increasingly. increasingly concerned about Maggie missing an event she helped so hard to organize. She also wasn't replying to their text messages and calls, which added to their worries. Around that time, Connie left work and headed over to the show, but when she arrived,

she was asked about Maggie's whereabouts because she hadn't shown up for her work in the VIP section. Connie then called up Maggie's phone, but it was answered by a voicemail. Right away, I had a gut feeling. something wasn't right. Maggie is very responsible and would have never flaked on something like this, Connie said. The older sister, who was living on her own, decided to drive over to her family's home. A frantic call from a tenant living in an attic for rent unit at the Long's family house was received by the police shortly after 7 p.m.

This caller claimed that from where he was, he could hear voices loudly arguing, screaming, and throwing things around the main house. The chaotic noise escalated into violence, and the tenant feared that someone was attempting to start a fire and burn the house down. He was afraid to leave the house and pleaded for the police to come immediately. So 12 minutes later, police and firefighters arrived at the scene and put out of fire. After a preliminary investigation,

fire officials requested the Colorado Bureau of Investigations' presence after finding numerous starts to the fire, which indicated that arson was committed. As Connie was getting closer to their house now, her gut feeling that something bad had happened, grew worse. I drove up as close as I could, and that's when I saw the chaos. The fire trucks, our house had burned, she said. Maggie's car was parked in the driveway, but she was nowhere in sight. It signaled a horrible incident, so Connie right away took action by calling up family and friends and posted a desperate plea on Facebook, asking for help and looking for her younger sister,

who was already considered missing at this point. Her appeal received favorable responses as offers to organize a search party poured in. The idea was brought up by the Long family to the police who surprisingly didn't agree to a search and rescue effort. According to the Park County undersheriff, David Wollers, it wasn't necessary yet. And he wanted to wait and see if there was a connection between the house fire and Maggie's disappearance. Just imagine how frustrated Maggie's family was about this seemingly ludicrous line of reasoning. But not long after, the undersheriff's point had some reason to it. The full investigation of the scene went into full swing, and after 12 hours the Long family

got heartbreaking news. 9.58 a.m. on December 2nd, Park County Coroner was called in because a body had been discovered. The later that day, Under-Sheriff Wallers issued a statement explaining that they wrapped up the on-scene investigation for the cause of the fire was inconclusive, and there was neither a sign of Maggie nor her remains. This pronouncement ran contrary to the fact that during the investigation after the fire subsided, there were coroner's deputies present in a victim's assistant who was called in to help family members after a traumatic incident. Moreover, on December 4th, a gag order was issued prohibiting agencies involved in the Maggie Long investigation from releasing information about the case to the public or media outlets.

Again, the order was met with the question, why? We have to remember that Maggie supposedly was set on fire in their house and identifying the charred body may not be easily done. Investigators had to make sure it was the remains of Maggie and not ones of her assailants. before confirming it to her family. On December 7th, the gag order was rescinded, so Sheriff Fred Wegener made an official statement that Maggie's body was found on the night of the fire

and was considered a homicide case. The sheriff also stated that federal, state, and local law enforcement would comprise a task force called the Maggie Long Task Force. It would find the murderer or murderer is responsible for Maggie's death and then attained justice for her and her family. A tip line was set up by the group, and a cash reward was added for any information leading to the whereabouts of the perpetrators.

One of the tips the task force received came from a neighbor who reported seeing an old, tan-colored minivan being driven at high speeds out of Long's property on December 1st, shortly after 7 p.m. It braved the heavy traffic and then sped off. Based on this tip, Sheriff Wegener issued statement, for late models 90s to 2000s, light-colored Chevy Astro minivan and Ford pickup, possibly driven by a white male in his 20s. The homicide occurred during an arson, and the suspect

driver may have some flash burns, as well as gasoline taken from the long haul, a large green case, an AK-47-style rifle, 2,000 rounds of ammo, a 9-millimeter Beretta handgun, and precious Jade figurines. Please be advised, the subject is considered armed and extremely dangerous. The Longhouse was a ranch situated back into secluded acres of land with only one road for going in and out of the property. As there were many vehicles in the area when the police responded to the 911 call, we can't discount the possibility that authorities may have missed the suspects while speeding away from the scene of the crime by mere minutes. As time went by, the chance to apprehend the culprits, became slimmer despite the efforts of the authorities. In order to beef up,

the Maggie Long task force, the FBI was called in to work with the Colorado authorities. They set up roadblocks around the Long's house and checked every resident in the neighborhood. Fliers containing details and pictures of the minivan and stolen items from the burned house were distributed. Aside from interviewing thousands of Bailey residents, the task force also went door to door and took DNA samples from men 15 years old and above. But still, they found no lead that would forward the case, and it remained the same after a year. On the first death anniversary of Maggie,

the FBI released composite sketches of three male suspects and three suspect vehicles with an announcement that they believe the Asian American teen was purposefully set on fire and burned alive. An additional cash reward was offered, and a website was created for, tips and updates about the case for the public's knowledge. Sadly, though, no arrest was ever made. All these efforts were futile, and the lack of leads turned Maggie Long's case cold. By January of

2019, the Park County Sheriff's Office, CBI, FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms released a joint statement about a theory for the suspect's motive. They believe Maggie walked in on a burglary at her family's home as it was happening and interrupted the criminals. Robbery was the motive, and it's just unfortunate that the teen's desire to get some snacks for the concert guests was a wrong timing that led to her murder. Initially, Maggie's killing was considered as a crime of opportunity. Police said that there was a physical altercation between her and the three suspects during that burglary, and it was also believed that the intent of the arson was to conceal the

actions of the perpetrators, and that one or more of them got injured by the fire. The authorities also speculated that the criminals had changed their appearances, sold their vehicles, and left the area since December of 2017. The Long family was naturally perplexed by Maggie's fate. Older sister Connie emphasized, She absolutely did not know them. There's no way that anyone who knew my sister would do something so horrific to her. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The pain of losing Maggie was unbearable, so much so that two years after her death, Long family decided to sell their Bailey home, which they had never set foot in since the tragedy. They moved to Denver, where they cherish being together, especially during holidays. Yet the desire to find justice for Maggie's death has never waned. A twist in the investigation caught everybody by surprise when on May 18, 2021, The FBI classified Maggie Long's murder case as a hate crime. It's defined by the FBI as a criminal offense against a person or property, motivated in whole or in part by the individual's bias against a race, religion, disability,

ethnicity or national origin, sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity. Denver FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Schneider said that the agency is, committed in fighting hate crimes and condemning violence against individuals or groups. It also vowed to continue working closely with other authorities and getting to the bottom of Maggie's shocking murder. Treating the case as a hate crime would also allow the Park County Sheriff's Office to qualify for more funding and resources. And with this development in the case, sisters Connie and lean along said that they were initially surprised but welcomed an investigation from a hate crime angle, considering the extent of violence involved. We just haven't experienced that type of violence

firsthand, but knowing what happened to Maggie and just the nature of the violence, it is something that should be taken into consideration, Connie said. She also cited that her younger sisters' race and gender were probably contributing factors for the perpetrators to think it was fine to kill her. The FBI and the Long family have pulled together $75,000 in reward money for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the murder case. Lena hoped this could incentivize people to come forward with information. She said,

Maybe now the people who may have known something in December of 2017 are now in a place where they can speak to their truth. Four years have passed since the Long family lost their youngest member and they want to make sure Maggie isn't forgotten as they continue to seek justice. The impact she has made is immortalized by the venue theater where Maggie is honored with a scholarship fund and a seat plaque bearing her name. Since 2018, the family has been celebrating her birthday with Maggie's friends by handing out socks and sandwiches to the homeless. Of course, they can't help but get nostalgic as they remember her ambitious spirit, her positive attitude, and her contagious

laughter. Then, the stark reality that Maggie's case is still unsolved settles in. But the Long family is driven to find those responsible for such a heinous crime done to their innocent sister and daughter. Anyone with information about Maggie's case may call the Maggie Long Task Force at 303-239-4243. FBI Denver at 1-800 call FBI. or submit tips online at fbi.gov slash tips. So that's it for this week's episode of Everytown. Tune in next week for another episode

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