A teen girl died in a Colorado house fire. As investigators dug into the case, the mystery deepened

On a December day in 2017, Maggie Long ran home to pick up cookies for an event at her high school in rural Colorado. Her family’s home was damaged that day in a fire, and the 17-year-old’s body was found inside. Then the mystery deepened.

Connie Long kept her eyes glued to the door at the high school auditorium. She expected her younger sister to burst in at any moment, frazzled and excited. As a senior at Platte Canyon High School, Maggie Long was involved in staging the event –- a concert by a local Denver rock band –- and her family knew she’d never miss it. But as the opening band played and the minutes dragged on, the 17-year-old was nowhere to be found. “I had a weird feeling. I knew something was very wrong,” Connie said. “Maggie was responsible, dependable. She had helped organize this concert. There was no reason for her to be late or not show up.” Her intuition was right. Connie didn’t realize it at the time, but her sister had rushed home after classes that afternoon to collect home-baked cookies for the school event in Bailey, Colorado. Soon after, a mysterious fire broke out at the Long family’s sprawling, ranch-style house. Firefighters discovered Maggie’s remains that night in the charred ruins.