People who knew Ashley Doolittle describe her as a person who never did anything simply because she thought that was what was expected of a girl her age.
“Teenaged girls are often concerned about how they should dress or act to impress people,” said Kim Madsen, the organization leader of the Boulder Valley Riders 4-H club, of which Doolittle was a member.
“She was herself,” Madsen said. “She was goofy. She never put airs on for anyone. She was just her wonderful self.”
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Although it had not been confirmed on Friday evening, a young woman’s body discovered earlier in the day in Mesa County near Collbran is possibly that of the 18-year-old Doolittle.
Her ex-boyfriend, Tanner Flores, also 18, has been taken into custody by the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office after he and his truck were spotted near the location of the woman’s body on Friday.
The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office had been looking for Doolittle, who lives in Berthoud, since Thursday evening and believed that she might have been with Flores, who was reportedly distraught the two had recently broken up.
Flores has not been charged with any crime.
Boulder County Fair Coordinator Laura Boldt said Doolittle had been riding horses since she was about 5 years old, and she mostly knew Doolittle through the horse world.
“When we got together, we would talk a lot about horses,” she said. “I always saw her in the arena, in the horse pen. She was always fun to watch.”
Doolittle was the 2016 Boulder County Fair and Rodeo lady-in-waiting — usually the person who is crowned queen the following year — and had made several appearances on behalf of the fair during the past year.
Doolittle dedicated much of her time to 4-H, judging horse competitions and competing in them, and was looking forward to being crowned queen at the upcoming Boulder County Fair and Rodeo in August.
“An absolutely wonderful person,” said Julia Davis, president of the Boulder County Fair Board. “She was very giving. She always had a smile.”
Madsen said Doolittle was an accomplished horse rider, achieving level four status in 4-H, the highest in the organization.
“She was an excellent horse woman,” Madsen said. “She had achieved a lot. She was one of the highest level kids in our county.”
Doolittle graduated from Berthoud High School in May and was planning on attending Colorado State University in the fall to major in Agricultural Business.
“She was very positive,” Davis said. “She just had so much potential. She loved the 4-H way of life, a great horse woman and just all-around beautiful person.”
Madsen said a planned 4-H event had gone on as planned on Friday evening.
“It’s a very tough day,” Madsen said. “We got together and said a group prayer and cried a lot. We just expressed how much we are here for her family. We want to help them in any way possible.”
Madsen said it was important for the event — which is intended to help people showing horses know what judges look for — to proceed so its members could talk about what had happened and support one another.
“Ashley was loved by a lot of people,” Madsen said. “Everybody will miss her. Forever.”
