<\/p>\n
The Mancos Marshal\u2019s Office reported on Friday at 4:22 p.m. that it has identified a \u201cperson of interest\u201d who was related to the incident and there was no active threat to schools. Marshal Jason Spruell declined to comment further, saying the case was still under investigation.<\/p>\n Mancos School District Re-6 Superintendent Brian Hanson said an anonymous phone call on Friday morning led to Mancos\u2019 lockout, and the district started lockout procedures just after 9 a.m.<\/p>\n Cortez Police Lt. Andy Brock later confirmed that a separate rumor, reported anonymously through Safe2Tell<\/a>, led to a heightened law enforcement presence at Cortez and Dolores schools. Safe2Tell Colorado is an anonymous emergency alert system designed to help Colorado citizens report threats to their communities. The Dolores School District stated that it did not receive a threat.<\/p>\n Schools and law enforcement officials used the Nixle notification service<\/a> throughout the day to tell residents about developments.<\/p>\n At 9:54 a.m., a Nixle alert stated that the Cortez and Dolores lockouts were due to an \u201cunsubstantiated rumor, not an active threat.\u201d At 11:07 a.m., another alert said the Mancos lockout was caused by an \u201canonymous phone call threat\u201d and that all students and staff were safe.<\/p>\n In Mancos, classes continued as normal at the schools, but all doors and windows to the outside were locked and students were not allowed to travel between buildings, Hanson said. Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin said a Mancos marshal and a Montezuma County deputy were on scene to help with security and investigate the threat.<\/p>\n Hanson, who was out of town at the time, said parents would be notified of the situation immediately.<\/p>\n Normally Mancos Schools do not hold classes on Friday, but Hanson said Friday\u2019s session was an exception because there were no classes Monday because of the President\u2019s Day holiday. Mancos has a four-day week.<\/p>\n The Mancos School District announced on its website about 11:20 a.m. that school would be dismissed at 12:55 p.m. because numerous students had already checked out and the rumors had caused a distraction.<\/p>\n \u201cAgain, all students, staff and buildings remain safe and secure,\u201d the announcement said.<\/p>\n Nowlin said schools in Cortez, Dolores and Mancos would have heightened security on Friday, but he said that was standard procedure in response to all reports of possible threats. He said he did not believe students were in any danger.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always that way anymore,\u201d Nowlin said. \u201cWe just have to be extra vigilant.\u201d<\/p>\n Tina King-Washington, the K-12 Education Director for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, said Tribal Chairman Harold Cuthair asked her department to send two vans to the Montezuma-Cortez High School Friday morning \u201cas a precaution\u201d and to pick up students who wanted to go home and whose parents could get them released.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are our tribal kids, and we don\u2019t want to take any chances,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Despite the increased security, Brock said police had no reason to believe the Cortez rumors were credible, and added that they may have stemmed from an older social media post reported on Sunday.<\/p>\n In a statement posted about 1:15 p.m. Friday to the Montezuma-Cortez School District\u2019s Facebook<\/a> page, Superintendent Lori Haukeness stated that everyone was safe and the Cortez Police Department and Sheriff\u2019s Office had determined that there was no active threat to Cortez schools.<\/p>\n \u201cMany of you have seen the social media posts in our community today suggesting possible threats to schools in Montezuma County,\u201d Haukeness wrote in the statement. \u201cThe rumors spreading on social media increase anxiety among our students and families.\u201d<\/p>\n Haukeness also recognized that parents have the right to make the choice they feel is best in regards to attendance.<\/p>\n