Colorado Woman Kidnapped From Bloomberg Ranch Found: Sheriff

CHEYENNE, WY — A kidnapped Colorado woman was found safe at a Cheyenne hotel after authorities said she was abducted at gunpoint from a ranch where she worked that's owned by former New York City mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg.

The 46-year-old Meeker, Colorado, woman was abducted from the ranch in Rio Blanco County on Wednesday, the county sheriff's office said. Law enforcement officers found her in a Cheyenne hotel in the early morning hours of Thursday.

Authorities said in a news release that Joseph Beecher, 48, of Craig, Colorado, contacted the woman at Bloomberg's ranch where she works as a staffer during the morning hours of Wednesday. Beecher abducted her at gunpoint and forced her to leave the property in her pickup truck just before noon, authorities said.

The Rio Blanco Sheriff's Office was called to the area initially for a crash and later for trespassing, then a kidnapping as they learned more about what transpired. A statewide endangered/missing alert was issued.

Beecher took the woman to the Denver metro area for several stops, then to Wyoming later in the evening, authorities said. Investigators tracked them to the Stagecoach Motel on West Lincolnway in Cheyenne using the woman's iPad. Cheyenne police deployed a SWAT team and arrested Beecher without incident at the hotel.

Video posted on Facebook by the Cheyenne Police Department showed about 10 law enforcement agents with guns drawn surround the hotel.

The woman was reunited with her family.

Beecher was taken to the Laramie County jail and faces state charges including kidnapping, felony menacing and others, along with charges out of Wyoming. He was charged with kidnapping in federal court Thursday and was jailed without bail.

Beecher had multiple guns when he was arrested, authorities said, including an AR-15 and a handgun.

Beecher has no connection with the victim or the Bloomberg family, the sheriff's office said. Court documents obtained by The Associated Press showed that he first asked her where Bloomberg's daughters were and ranted about the billionaire, saying he wanted to "make an international scene" with him or his daughters. Beecher rammed his pickup through the ranch's gates during the abduction and at one point kissed her on the forehead and said she would've been killed if she were a man, an arrest affidavit said.

The Bloombergs were not at the ranch at the time of the abduction and are cooperating with investigators. The family bought the ranch in April 2020 for nearly $45 million.

Court documents showed the woman was a supervising housekeeper at the ranch. Beecher told her he had gone to the Meeker airport in July looking for Bloomberg, according to the Colorado affidavit.

Beecher lives in Craig, Colorado, about 70 miles from the ranch. He worked as a handyman at an apartment complex, according the affidavit, and received housing in exchange for his work. He was told he was being terminated Tuesday and would have to leave.

"We're deeply grateful to the Rio Blanco County Sheriff's Office, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Wyoming law enforcement, the FBI and other individuals for their swift and heroic action in this case in ensuring that no lives were lost and that the victim has been rescued and safely returned to her family," said Ty Trippet, a spokesman for Michael Bloomberg.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.