CASTLE ROCK OFFICIAL TURNS IN SON

A Castle Rock town councilman and his wife made a painful and "tough
decision" when they turned their teenage son in to police after
discovering what appeared to be drug-making materials in his bedroom.

Police are investigating Jordan Hurd, 18, but have not filed charges.

"It's your son," Councilman Jack Hurd said Wednesday. "There was the
possibility he could get in trouble."

But it was the right thing to do, he said. "If I would have tried to
hide it, then I'm just as guilty."

Criminal charges are possible, said Police Chief Tony Lane. While the
materials found Monday in Jordan Hurd's bedroom "are commonly used in
the manufacture of crystal (methamphetamine), an illegal controlled
substance . . . it was far from being a meth lab," Lane said.

Jordan Hurd, who recently moved back into his parents' home, left
after the incident, his parents said. He could not be reached for
comment Wednesday.

His mother, Maria, said she doesn't think her son was surprised or
angry at being turned in by his parents. He did seem remorseful, she
said.

Maria Hurd said she discovered the "ominous"-looking materials in
Jordan's bedroom while she and one of her daughters were searching
for a missing item on Monday.

"They were just some containers of things," she said. "Just to look
at them, we had no idea" what the materials were for. "It looked
concerning, and it looked odd."

Jack Hurd said he also was puzzled and disturbed when his wife
brought him the materials. "I could not tell what it was," he said.
"We just knew we needed to get it out of the house" and to police.

On Tuesday, Castle Rock police, fire officials and federal agents
from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms searched the Hurds'
Prescott Avenue home.

Maria Hurd said her son was forthcoming with police.

"He told them he had plans with crystal," she said. She said she is
pained by her son's "wrong choices" but does not believe he is above
the law.

"I'm not a parent with my eyes closed," she said. "We want to be
safe. We like to be law-abiding citizens, and if my child is guilty
of something, he needs to pay the price.

"I'm not going to hide him," Maria Hurd said. "I just hope that he
will learn something."

The Hurds - who also have a 20-year-old son and two daughters, 22 and
26 - were commended for acting with integrity.

"Mr. and Mrs. Hurd did what we would hope any concerned parent would
do when they find such materials," Lane said. "They are to be
commended, as their actions may have prevented a more serious or
potentially dangerous situation."

"We've always taught our kids there are consequences to their
actions," Jack Hurd said.