THURSDAY, September 24, 2026|
Photo – CCSO Patrol Vehicle – Courtesy CCSO
A Colorado man has been arrested for allegedly intentionally driving off a mountain, resulting in his wife’s death.
On Tuesday, September 22nd, 46-year-old Forrest Jay Wood, of Fort Collins, Colorado was arrested and charged with first- and second-degree murder following an incident that occurred on June 3rd near Ryan Park.
Carbon County Sheriff’s Office Detective Sergeant Joel Robertson wrote in his affidavit that on June 5th, he received a report of a vehicle on the side of a mountain near the French Creek overlook. When he reached the scene, the caller led Sergeant Robertson roughly nine miles down the dirt road to tire impressions which marked where the vehicle left the road and went down the cliff. Approximately 75 yards from the roadway on the side of a very steep hill, Sergeant Robertson spotted the top of a pickup truck.
The officer called for fire and EMS and began climbing down the hillside toward the vehicle, a gray Chevy Silverado with Colorado license plates. After reaching the truck, Sergeant Robertson wrote that there were no occupants, but the driver’s side door was open. He could see a bloody suitcase and a cooler full of beer on the back seats. In addition, the airbags were deployed and the passenger airbag was covered in blood. An open beer can was spotted in the center console.
Sergeant Robertson searched the surrounding area, but did not find any occupants. He returned to his patrol vehicle and called in the license plate. Dispatch informed the officer that the vehicle had been reported missing on the previous evening, June 4th, and that the two occupants, 44‑year‑old Virginia Wood and 46‑year‑old Forrest Jay Wood, were both listed as missing. Their phones had last pinged in the area.
Robertson called Carbon County Search and Rescue and a K-9 unit to help locate the occupants. In the meantime, Carbon County Sheriff’s Deputy Dylan Bilharz arrived on the scene, and the two officers began searching the area. Sergeant Robertson wrote that Deputy Bilharz located the body of Virginia Wood, laying under a bush approximately 50 yards down the hill from the front of the truck. She had a “significant injury above her eyes” and had clearly been dead for a while.
The two officers searched for the second occupant for 30 more minutes, then returned to the top of the hill to rest. While there, Carbon County Search and Rescue volunteers located Forrest Wood on the side of the hill.
The officers reached Wood, who was alert and able to speak. When asked if he was the only occupant in the truck, Sergeant Robertson wrote that Wood stated that two other men were inside of the vehicle at the time of the incident, but changed his version of events to say there was only one other male. Wood stated that he thought he was in Loveland, Colorado and that the deceased woman was not his wife. Sergeant Robertson determined that Wood was either not being honest or was very disoriented and stopped questioning him.
Sergeant Robertson wrote that Wood had a possible injury above his left eye and dried blood around his lips. The officer did not see any other injuries, and Wood told medical staff he wasn’t in pain. The occupant was flown to Banner Wyoming Medical Center in Casper for treatment.
Sergeant Robertson continued searching area, with the help of Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers and an Albany County Sherriff’s Office drone pilot. During the search, two younger men arrived and informed officers that they were Virgina Wood’s sons. The young men were able to positively identify the dead woman as their mother, then explained that the Woods were having marital problems and left together to “work on their marriage.” The couple were expected to return on the evening of June 3rd, but had failed to do so and family members reported the Woods missing. Life 360, a location-sharing phone application, was used to track the couple to the French Creek area. Family members were concerned about Virgina’s welfare, as she had recently chosen to divorce Forrest Wood.
Data from the truck’s onboard computer showed that approximately five seconds before the crash, the vehicle was traveling 44 mph with the driver heavily accelerating under 99 percent throttle. The driver accelerated to 57 miles per hour just one and a half seconds before impact. No braking was applied. Both occupants were wearing their seatbelts.
On July 6th, Wood voluntarily arrived at the Carbon County Courthouse for questioning. He told investigators that on June 2nd he came home from a 10‑day business trip and his wife wanted to talk about their marriage. They went to a Loveland hotel to speak, then, the following morning, chose to head into the Wyoming mountains, where Wood grew up.
Wood said on June 3rd, he and Virginia drove through Laramie into Centennial, then turned onto French Creek Road near Ryan Park around 5 p.m. The couple stopped to drink beer and continue discussing their marriage. The discussion included information of an “emotional affair” Virginia had with an acquittance. Wood told investigators that neither of them became intoxicated.
At around 7 p.m., the couple began driving again. Wood stated that the next thing he remembered was his brother telling him that his wife had died.
Investigators confronted Wood with the fact that he had applied 99 percent throttle just before the crash, with no signs of braking or any attempt to avoid it. Sergeant Joel Robertson wrote that Wood shook his head and said, “I don’t know.” When asked if he wanted to end his life, Wood said no, that he and Virginia were both happy and wanted the relationship to continue. He then asked for an attorney and ended the interview.
Investigators later obtained a search warrant for Wood’s cell phone, where multiple Google searches for “cliffs near me” and “scenic overlooks near me” were made in the days before the crash. On the day of the incident, Wood allegedly made 40 Google searches for “what type of life insurance do I have through work,” nine for “do term life insurances have suicide clauses,” and more than 60 combined searches related to cars driving off cliffs in the area. Investigators also determined that Wood’s phone was accessed after the crash, but not to call for help.
As the investigation continued, officers questioned the extent of Virginia Wood’s injuries. Her body was located 50 yards from the truck, but there were no signs that she had been dragged there, nor was she ejected from the vehicle. Her socks were not covered in dirt or debris, which would be expected if she had walked down the hill. Investigators determined that Virgina was most likely carried to where she was found in an attempt to hide her body.
Carbon County Coroner Brittany Nyman performed an autopsy on Virgina Wood’s body and determined that she died from blunt force trauma and ruled her death a homicide. Coroner Nyman explained that Virgina sustained two collapsed lungs in the crash, which would not have instantly killed her. The county coroner concluded that she survived the initial crash, but likely suffocated hours later.
Following the investigation, Carbon County Attorney Sarah Chavez-Harkins charged Forrest Wood with first degree murder, second degree murder, failure to give information or render aid, and possession of an open container. A warrant was issued for his arrest, and Wood was taken into custody by Fort Collins Police. As of yesterday morning, Wood was being held at the Larimer County Detention Center awaiting extradition to Carbon County.
