What began as a search for two missing men and a house covered in blood in El Paso County has become a death investigation.

On the evening of Dec. 19, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office received a call for service at a home in the 1800 block of Pima Drive in the unincorporated El Paso County area of Cimarron Hills.

According to a news release sent out Thursday afternoon, deputies at the scene found “large quantities of blood in multiple locations throughout the residence.”

Deputies identified two men possibly associated with the house and the blood — 46-year-old John Rankin Morris and 37-year-old Stephen Walker. The public was asked to help find the missing men, along with a black Audi on Dec. 23.

The Audi was found the following day in Park County near Antero Junction at a trailhead. The vehicle was found a half-mile from a house in the 1500 block of Campfire Road, where a “check the welfare” 911 call had directed Park County sheriff’s deputies that day.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office reports that the investigation in Park County found the body of a male at the residence, as well as evidence that the “known occupant” of that residence had at least indirect ties to Morris and/or Walker.

The identity of the dead male and apparent cause of death were not immediately known.

Thursday’s news release states that investigators are now seeking information on whereabouts of Morris and Walker, in addition to Hailey Diane Cole, 43.

Investigators are also looking for a blue 1994 Ford F-150 pickup with a “HUNTER” sticker on the left fender. The  truck has a Colorado license plate No. TQQ039.

The vehicle could be in Colorado or possibly en route to Mississippi, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Stephen Walker is described as 5-foot-11, 160 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes and tattoos on his right arm.

Johnny Rankin Morris is described as 5-foot-9, 150 pounds, with short-cut brown and gray hair, blue eyes and a tattoo on his right ear.

Hailey Diane Cole is described as 5-foot-5, 145 pounds, medium-length brown hair and blue eyes.

Morris and Cole are considered people of interest in the Dec. 19 incident. Morris is considered to be “missing under suspicious circumstances.”

Morris and Cole are considered armed and dangerous. If seen, members of the community should contact 911.

Members of the public who may have information related to the Park County or El Paso County investigations or who may have seen the missing F-150 pickup truck are asked to call the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Regional Communications Center non-emergency line at 719-390-5555.

Stephen Walker (Courtesy of the El Paso County

Sheriff’s Office)