On the morning of July 14, 2016, three-year-old Gavin Michael Stiles was found shot in the master bedroom of the family home in the Stagecoach area of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and later died at Yampa Valley Medical Center. His father, Steamboat Springs Police Officer Michael Stiles, was working outside with two construction workers; Gavin’s mother, Joni Stiles, was upstairs with their infant son when the gunshot occurred. After hearing a loud bang, she discovered Gavin and ran outside, telling her husband that their son had shot himself.

Investigators with the Routt County Sheriff’s Office determined Gavin had accessed Michael Stiles’s duty weapon, a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun that had been in a bag in the master bedroom closet. Michael Stiles said Gavin likely climbed on furniture to reach the bag. The case was presented to a 14th Judicial District grand jury, which declined to indict either Michael or Joni Stiles, finding the death to be a tragic accident. No arrests were made.

If anyone knew the family or has information about the circumstances that morning, please share what is known.