In the summer of 2001, Daphne Hope vanished… and for over seven long years, her case disappeared into the reams of files at the Denver Police Department. And even when new detectives did start digging, no one has been able to piece together exactly what happened to Daphne. Over the years, theories about her disappearance have varied wildly – from sex work and drug deals to a serial killer. There was even speculation that Daphne wasn’t missing at all, that she was hiding in protective custody. And then there’s the man she lived with at the time – what might he know about her disappearance?
Courtesy of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation
Episode Info
If you have any information about the disappearance of Daphne Hope in August of 2001, please get in touch with Detective Jason McDonald of the Aurora Police Department at 303-739-6013, or you can email him at: jamcdona@auroragov.org
Photo of Daphne Hope, courtesy of the Aurora Police Department.
Photo of Daphne Hope, courtesy of Daphne Hope’s family.
Daphne Hope, courtesy of Daphne Hope’s family.
Photo of Gary Sterling’s former home where Daphne was last seen, courtesy of the Aurora Police Department.
Photo of Gary Sterling’s former home, which has been the focus of searches, courtesy of the Aurora Police Department.
Photo of Gary Sterling’s former home, which has been the focus of searches, courtesy of the Aurora Police Department.
Richard Paul White, courtesy of the Colorado Department of Corrections.
The letter Richard Paul White sent to the Aurora PD, courtesy of the Aurora Police Department.
Episode Source Material
Original reporting by Taylor Hartz and Dan Callahan.
- Police records courtesy of the Aurora Police Department.
- Colorado Information Marketplace. Map of Municipal Boundaries in Colorado.
- Colorado Bureau of Investigation. State Summary Criminal History Record for Gary Sterling.
- Colorado Bureau of Investigation. State Summary Criminal History Record for Daphne Hope.
- Colorado Department of Corrections. State Summary Incarceration Record for Richard P White.
- Department of Public Safety: Texas. State Summary Criminal History for Gary Sterling.
- Farer, Paola. “Autopsy Released on victim of confessed killer” 9 News, 15 Dec. 2003,
- Kovaleski, Serge F. ” Killers’ families struggle with fear, shame and silence.” Herald-Tribune, 4 Feb. 2002
- Associated Press. “Confessed serial killer gets life in prison.” Fox News, 20 Nov. 2004
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