Colorado seasonal park ranger pleads guilty in stabbing hoax, sentenced to probation

The seasonal park ranger accused of creating a stabbing hoax at Colorado’s Staunton State Park last summer has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to probation. A judge also ordered Callum Heskett to pay restitution for the false report that prompted what is being called a “large-scale law enforcement response and manhunt in August 2025.”

Heskett pleaded guilty on Monday to two counts: attempt to influence a public servant and false reporting of an emergency in connection with the Aug. 19, 2025, incident. A judge sentenced Heskett to three years of supervised probation and ordered to pay at least $16,700 in restitution for the false report. That exact amount will be finalized within 21 days to account for costs incurred by all assisting agencies. 

As part of the plea agreement, five other counts were dismissed by the court. 

Prosecutors with the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office claim Heskett contrived a story that he had been attacked by a man near a trail in the state park. The arrest affidavit indicates Heskett claimed to an investigator that the attacker said, “something to the effect of, ‘f**k the police.”

Heskett told investigators the man then charged at him and knocked him to the ground with a shoulder tackle, before getting hold of Heskett’s pocket knife and stabbing him. Then Heskett claimed the attacker ran away into the forest.

Through much of that day, dozens of law enforcement officers searched the area in and around the park, evacuating visitors and keeping local residents from their homes. Investigators say they found inconsistencies in Heskett’s story and, in a consented search of Heskett’s phone, found searches the morning of the stabbing for “how deep are arteries in lower abdomen” and “abdominal anatomy.”

According to prosecutors, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office SWAT and drone teams were activated, along with the Colorado State Patrol SOAR and aviation teams. A Lookout Alert was sent to approximately 8,600 residents in the surrounding area, warning of potential danger. Several schools and nearby residents were asked to remain in lockdown for safety. 

Deputy District Attorney Michael Rex told the court that Heskett, “was in a position of authority and trust” and “abused that authority” by making a false report that triggered a substantial law enforcement response. 

Rex also said in a statement that “innocent third parties were inconvenienced and investigated as possible assailants, and likely numerous police reports went unresponded to as critical assets were deployed,” and called Heskett’s conduct “utterly incompatible with the responsibility, trust, and duty charged of a law enforcement officer.”

Heskett’s convictions revoke his POST certification and prosecutors said it would bar any future recertification while requiring restitution to help offset the cost of the response.