GLADE PARK, CO - On October 20, 2025, at 5:00 p.m., Deputies with the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office responded in support of the US Forest Service (USFS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to a disturbance caused by a male in the area of Fruita Reservoir Three.

A ranger with the US Forest Service found a male near a car located in bushes off of MS Road in Glade Park. An infant was found in the car and the male appeared to be of an altered mental state. An off leash dog owned by the male attacked the USFS ranger as she worked to contain the scene. The male then re-entered his vehicle and took off at a high rate of speed.

A Bureau of Land Management ranger responding to the area located the vehicle as it nearly hit him head on due to erratic driving. Deputies with the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office arrived in the area shortly after and found the male walking out of a wooded area with the infant in his arms.

The male was placed into custody and the infant was reunited with the custodial mother. The suspect has been identified as Nathaniel Adam Casper, 30, of Grand Junction, Colorado. Casper was transported to the Mesa County Detention Facility by an MCSO deputy on the following charges:

• Child Abuse - Knowingly/Reckless - No Injury, Misdemeanor 2

• Unlawful Ownership of Dangerous Dog, Misdemeanor 3

• Obstructing Government Operations, Misdemeanor 2

• Reckless Driving, Traffic Offense 2

• Driving Under Restraint - Alcohol, Traffic Offense 2

We would like to thank the rangers involved from the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management for their response and aid in this case.

No further information is available at this time.