Paul & Sarah Skiba & Lorenzo Chivers - Colorado - 1999

  

Paul Carroll Skiba, his duaghter Sarah Arielle Skiba and employee Lorenzo Deshawn Chivers have been missing from Westminster, Colorado since February 7, 1999. AMW aired this case the same year. From the Charley Project:

Paul Carroll Skiba-
Missing Since: February 7, 1999 from Westminster, Colorado
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: February 23, 1960
Age: 38 years old
Height and Weight: 6'1, 170 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian male. Brown hair, blue eyes. Paul may have a mustache, beard or goatee. He may use the alias Craig Michael Nelson. His last name is pronounced "Skee-ba."

Sarah Arielle Skiba-
Missing Since: February 7, 1999 from Westminster, Colorado
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: July 27, 1989
Age: 9 years old
Height and Weight: 4'5, 80 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Blonde hair, hazel eyes. Sarah has a red mark across the bridge of her nose. She may wear her hair in a ponytail. Her last name is pronounced "Skee-ba."

Lorenzo Deshawn Chivers
Missing Since: February 7, 1999 from Westminster, Colorado
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: November 5, 1962
Age: 36 years old
Height and Weight: 5'10, 160 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: African-American male. Black hair, brown eyes. Chivers may have a moustache, beard or a goatee.

Paul's daughter, Sarah Skiba, was visiting him during the weekend of February 7, 1999 at his home in Thornton, Colorado. Paul and Sarah's mother, Michelle Russell, are divorced and it was Paul's scheduled visitation with his daughter at the time. Sarah resided in Granby, Colorado with her mother in 1999. Paul owned Tuff Movers, a moving company based in Westminster, Colorado. He and Sarah were last seen at approximately 6:00 p.m. on February 7, 1999 in Morrison, Colorado. Sarah accompanied Paul and his employee, Lorenzo Chivers, to the city for a moving job at the time. None of them have been heard from again.

Russell reported her daughter as a missing child to authorities when she failed to return home from her father's visitation. Investigators initially believed that Paul had abducted Sarah with Chivers's assistance. A warrant was issued for Paul's arrest and authorities thought the disappearances were related to a possible custody dispute.

The investigation changed direction almost three weeks later, when Tuff Movers' vehicle, a white 1978 Chevrolet moving truck with red crescents painted on both sides, was located shortly after Russell contacted authorities. A photo of the truck is posted below this case summary. Investigators discovered the vehicle had been abandoned in the Westminster parking lot used by Paul's company. It wasn't parked the way he normally positioned it. The truck had been pierced by two bullets and was smeared with blood, a piece of human scalp with hair attached was inside, there was additional hair on the truck's fender, and shell casings and blood were found in the lot as well. There was no sign of Sarah, Paul or Chivers at the scene. Chivers's car was found parked in the lot, but Paul's vehicle was located in Denver, Colorado.

DNA tests proved that the blood on the truck's door was Paul's, the blood on the ground outside was Paul's and Sarah's, the piece of scalp was from Paul and the hair was Sarah's. Authorities changed the classification of the missing persons' cases at that time to endangered missing and announced that foul play was suspected in the disappearances. The truck's 3 by 10-foot metal loading ramp, straps and moving blankets were missing from the vehicle. Authorities believe the ramp may contain evidence related to the cases.

Investigators believe Chivers, Paul and Sarah were ambushed and killed when they returned the truck to the lot. They believe Paul was the probable target and his daughter and Chivers were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The murderer(s) may have used the moving truck to dispose of the bodies. Investigators dredged several lakes around the Denver, Colorado area in an effort to locate Sarah, Paul and Chivers's remains. No evidence was produced during the searches. It was believed that authorities were preparing to make an arrest in connection with the cases in August 1999, but the report proved to be false. No one has been charged with any involvement in any of the disappearances.

Sarah is described as a friendly, outgoing, caring, and talkative girl. She enjoys dancing, singing, school, animals, babies, and movies, and she is a good swimmer. Some agencies report that Sarah, Paul and Chivers disappeared from Granby, Colorado. Some agencies may continue to refer to Paul and Chivers as "abductors" in Sarah's case; the classification has changed, however.

Thoughts? This is a very bizarre case where so many angles can be discussed. However, going by what I read so far, they may have ran into seedy people involved in Paul's business or robbers.

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact Westminster Police Department at 303-430-2400 ext 4225:
www.ci.westminster.co.us/Safety/PoliceDepartment.aspx

web.archive.org/web/20000110205812/http://www.amw.com/site/archives/19990403/pskiba.html
web.archive.org/web/20000110225550/http://www.amw.com/site/archives/19990403/sskiba.html
web.archive.org/web/20000110105620/http://www.amw.com/site/archives/19990403/lchivers.html
www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/skiba_paul.html
www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/skiba_sarah.html
www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/chivers_lorenzo.html
www.icmec.org/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=860296&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US
www.colorado.gov/apps/coldcase/casedetail.html;jsessionid=CRbI4cPR6omVEWpv9Icd3A__?id=1683
www.colorado.gov/apps/coldcase/casedetail.html?id=278000
www.colorado.gov/apps/coldcase/casedetail.html;jsessionid=CRbI4cPR6omVEWpv9Icd3A__?id=1676
www.missingin.org/reg6258/paul_carroll_skiba.htm
www.missingin.org/reg3659/sarah_arielle_skiba.htm
www.missingin.org/reg5709/lorenzo_deshawn_chivers.htm
www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-70024739.html
www.thedenverchannel.com/news/blood-scalp-bullet-holes-only-clues-in-cold-case

Thanks. I should've looked better in the forums if this case was already posted.

No worries, you had the right intentions, wanting to further discussion on this baffling and very troubling cold case.

YouTube personality Cayleigh Elise has a video on this case.

Update: Due to Cayleigh Elise's unfortunate retirement from YouTube and unexpected deletion of her channel, the video I posted of her's regarding this case is gone. Here's a video from the Trace Evidence Podcast instead.

That wan my initial suspicion but after the Cayleigh Elise vid on them, I highly doubt it. However I think people surrounding Chivers may be involved.

This always seems to be the common occurrence with cold cases as far as the US is concerned. I'm pressed to say there needs to be a set federal standard on how to handle a case like this.