DE BEQUE, CO — A 23-year-old Texas man wanted on a $1 million kidnapping warrant out of Idaho was arrested Monday night in Mesa County.
On March 9, 2026, Mesa County Sheriff’s deputies received information regarding a wanted male and an endangered, abducted juvenile female traveling through the area together. Law enforcement across Mesa County—including the Colorado State Patrol and the De Beque Marshal—began actively searching for the suspect’s vehicle, described as a 2007 black GMC Yukon with Texas license plates. Garfield County law enforcement was also alerted that the vehicle was possibly heading toward their jurisdiction.
Just before 11 p.m., deputies located the Yukon at a gas station in De Beque. Authorities successfully took the suspect, identified as Francisco Vargas Pegueros, 23, of Texas, into custody without incident. He was subsequently transported to the Mesa County Detention Facility.
Pegueros was wanted on a nationwide, $1 million cash-only warrant for second-degree kidnapping issued by the Jerome Police Department in Idaho. Any further details regarding the kidnapping case itself are solely associated with the Jerome Police Department’s ongoing investigation.
The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office credited the seamless coordination and excellent working relationships between their agency, the Colorado State Patrol, the De Beque Marshal, and the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office for the successful location and arrest of the suspect.