Arrest of man closes investigation

Police, SWAT unit executed warrant which led to arrest

A lengthy investigation culminated Wednesday in the arrest of a suspect on felony sexual child exploitation charges.

Nathan Reeder, 31, of Fort Morgan was arrested following a search warrant earlier in the day which led to a Code Red alert in the area surrounding the 500 block of Gateway Avenue and the lockdown of Pioneer Elementary School.

“This has been an on-going investigation with original tips dating back several years,” Police Chief Loren Sharp said. “Recently, Fort Morgan detectives were able to gather enough evidence to support a search warrant at the residence of the suspect.”

That search warrant was executed at about 9:40 a.m. Wednesday in a coordinated effort with the Regional SWAT unit and with school officials at Pioneer Elementary School, where a lockdown was issued out of an abundance of caution, Sharp said.

Fort Morgan police utilized the Regional SWAT unit because of intelligence indicating multiple people were living in the home, at least one of which was known to be a violent offender, Sharp said.

During execution of the search warrant, “numerous occupants” were removed from the home for safety, Sharp said. The execution of the search warrant was followed by further investigation.

As a result, an arrest warrant was sought and granted Wednesday afternoon for Reeder. He was arrested on the warrant and is being held without bond on Class 3 felony charges of sexual child exploitation in the Morgan County jail.

“I am proud of the investigators that have worked diligently on this case to obtain enough evidence to bring a warrant to the judge,” Sharp said. “While due process is important and must play out in court, today was the first step in bringing justice to any and all victims in this case.”