The former El Paso County sheriff’s deputy who was reported missing nearly a year ago and now faces felony charges made his first appearance in Colorado’s 4th Judicial District Court on Thursday.

Kevin Sypher, 57, appeared in court  facing four charges: Felony theft between $20,000-$100,000, charitable fraud and two counts of misdemeanor officer misconduct.

Sypher was first reported missing on April 27, 2023. According to previous reports by The Gazette, he was found in Denver on April 29 and temporarily reunited with his family.

However, on April 30, Sypher was reported missing for the second time. After a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park with a family member, Sypher “walked away from the vehicle he was traveling in,” leading to another search, according to officials.

According to Gazette news partner KOAA, the timing of his disappearance could have something to do with the dissolution of this second marriage. His ex-wife did not want to comment on the story.

Court documents acquired by KOAA show that she discovered Sypher was already married to another woman just one month after she married him. Days after her discovery, Sypher walked off into Rocky Mountain National Forest and wasn’t heard from for nearly a year.

In looking into Sypher’s background, KOAA learned Sypher and his wife, Sara, worked together and that she is also in law enforcement.

In her petition to declare her marriage to Kevin Sypher invalid, the court documents say that less than a month after they got married in March 2023, she learned her new husband was already married to a woman in California — three days before his disappearance in April 2023.

At Sypher’s first appearance on Thursday his attorney, Michael Stuzynski, informed the court that he would be declining to argue bond and requested for a preliminary hearing to be set. Sypher’s bond will be discussed more at his preliminary hearing, now scheduled for April 29.

Sypher remains in custody at the Teller County jail on a $100,000 bond.