The Disappearance of Kenia Monge: How a White Van Unraveled a Killer’s Trail

A Night Out in Denver: The Start of a Tragic Story

March 31st, 2011, was just another busy evening in downtown Denver. The city hummed with the energy of nightlife—clubs overflowing, streets bustling, and drinks flowing a little too freely. Outside the 24K Lounge, one young woman stood out in the crowd. Barely scraping five feet tall at 4’11”, Kenia Monge lingered near the entrance. Her friends were still inside, partying on, oblivious to the fact that Kenia had left without her phone, keys, or purse—all of which were still sitting on the table.

Kenia wasn’t worried about her belongings, though. She had bigger problems. Alone, likely tipsy from the night’s drinks, she’d been separated from her group. What began as a typical night out for a nineteen-year-old with a fake ID was about to spiral into something far more sinister.

Kenia Monge’s Journey to America

Kenia Monge wasn’t always a Denver resident. She was born in Honduras to a mother who was still a child herself—Maria had Kenia when she was just 15 years old. Life in Honduras was tough, and Maria’s family scraped together every bit they could to send Maria to the United States at 16, hoping she could build a better future.

Maria’s journey to the States wasn’t glamorous, but it was a start. She found her footing, married Tony Lee, and built a family that included two more daughters. But Kenia wasn’t part of that picture—yet. It wasn’t until 2004, when Kenia was 12 years old, that Maria finally saved enough to bring her daughter to join them.

For Kenia, the move to America was life-changing. She soaked up every bit of it—the new language, new culture, and new opportunities. She quickly adapted, excelling in school and forming strong bonds with her sisters and her stepfather, Tony. In fact, it only took a few weeks for Kenia to start calling Tony “Dad.”

A New Life Filled with Promise

Kenia wasn’t just surviving in her new life—she was thriving. After graduating high school, she moved in with her boyfriend, Lewis Easton, ready to take on adulthood. But like many nineteen-year-olds testing the boundaries of independence, Kenia had a rebellious streak. She and her friends managed to snag fake IDs and frequently sneaked into Denver nightclubs.

That’s how Kenia found herself outside the 24K Lounge that fateful night in March 2011. What should’ve been an ordinary night of bending the rules turned into a nightmare.

A Missing Woman and a Growing Sense of Dread

The next morning, Kenia’s boyfriend, Lewis Easton, woke up expecting to find her at home. But her side of the bed was empty, and Kenia was nowhere to be found. Panic set in quickly. He called her family, and together, they began retracing her steps from the night before.

Her friends were easy enough to track down—they still had her phone, wallet, and keys. The sight of Kenia’s personal belongings in her friends’ possession only deepened the family’s unease. Why would she leave without them? Where could she have gone with no money, no ID, and no way to call for help?

The Monge family reached out to the police to file a missing persons report. But instead of urgency, they were met with indifference. They were told to wait 72 hours—an eternity for a family already fearing the worst.

A Cryptic Text from a Stranger

Waiting wasn’t an option for Tony Lee, Kenia’s stepfather. He was determined to do something, anything, to find her. While combing through Kenia’s phone, a strange text message caught his eye. It was from an unknown number and read:

“Hey this is Travis. The guy who gave you a ride last night – white creepy van :-) Did you get home okay?”

Most people might have zeroed in on the words “white creepy van” as a major red flag, but Tony focused on the sender. Who was Travis? Why did he have Kenia’s phone number? And why hadn’t Kenia made it home if she’d been given a ride?

Tony wasted no time. He began calling Travis repeatedly, demanding answers. After a day of dodging Tony’s calls, Travis finally picked up. What he said did little to ease the family’s fears.

Travis’s Story: A Web of Suspicion

According to Travis, he’d spotted Kenia outside the club the night before, talking to a homeless man. She seemed drunk and lost, so Travis, in what he described as an act of kindness, offered to give her a ride home. Kenia accepted the offer but then changed her mind mid-ride, asking Travis to stop at a gas station so she could buy cigarettes.

Here’s where the story gets murkier. Travis claimed Kenia didn’t have money to buy cigarettes, became angry, and stormed off toward a man he referred to as “Dan.” According to Travis, Kenia walked away with this mysterious stranger, and that was the last he saw of her.

Tony didn’t buy it for a second. But he wasn’t about to let Travis off the hook. When Travis offered to meet Tony at the same gas station where he’d allegedly dropped Kenia off, Tony agreed—but not without preparing for the worst.

Tensions at the Gas Station

Tony tucked a gun into his waistband before heading to meet Travis. Maria, terrified that the situation could turn violent, called the police to intervene. Although the family still wasn’t allowed to file an official missing persons report, law enforcement sensed the brewing tension and sent an officer to the gas station to keep things from escalating.

When Travis showed up, he stuck to his story, but something wasn’t right. Both Tony and the officer noticed a strong, unmistakable smell of bleach wafting from Travis’s van. It was suspicious, to say the least.

The officer dug a little deeper and discovered that Travis Forbes wasn’t exactly an upstanding citizen. At 31 years old, Travis already had a rap sheet that included burglary, harassment, and a history of violating probation. He’d even been on probation for domestic violence at the time Kenia disappeared. Despite these red flags, the police couldn’t charge Travis with anything related to Kenia’s disappearance—not yet. And with no legal grounds to hold him, they let him go.

A Trail of Clues Leads Nowhere

When Kenia’s family was finally allowed to file a missing persons report, investigators began piecing together the puzzle of her disappearance. One of their first major breaks came from security footage at a bakery that Travis rented for his business.

The footage painted a chilling picture. On the evening of April 1st, just one day after Kenia vanished, Travis was seen alone, wearing long latex gloves. He wheeled a duct-taped cooler into the walk-in freezer before heading back to his van with a bottle of bleach. Moments later, he returned and shut off the bakery’s security cameras.

This was a flashing neon sign to detectives, but they needed more to connect Travis directly to Kenia’s disappearance. When they brought him in for questioning, Travis doubled down on the story he’d given Tony at the gas station. He claimed he had dropped Kenia off at the gas station and then gone home to his girlfriend. Conveniently, his girlfriend backed up his alibi.

However, cell phone records told a different story. Travis’s phone pinged in Keenesburg—over 40 miles away from the gas station—during the crucial hours of Kenia’s disappearance. By the time investigators uncovered this, though, they’d already released Travis.

The Media Frenzy and Travis’s Dangerous Game

As news of Kenia’s case spread, Travis wasted no time inserting himself into the story. He appeared in multiple media interviews, playing the role of a helpful citizen. In some of these interviews, he even pretended to forget Kenia’s name, a calculated move to distance himself from suspicion.

But the pressure from both the media and law enforcement started to close in. Feeling the heat, Travis fled Denver and resurfaced in Austin, Texas, where he was arrested for stealing a friend’s car. His friend later dropped the charges, and once again, Travis slipped through the cracks.

Back in Colorado, investigators grew increasingly certain that Travis was involved, but without definitive proof, he remained free.

A Second Victim Narrowly Escapes

On July 4th, 2011, just a few months after Kenia’s disappearance, thirty-year-old Lydia Tillman’s life changed forever. Lydia had recently moved to Fort Collins, Colorado, and was still settling into her new home.

As she walked to her apartment that evening, a man shoved her through her front door and locked it behind him. What followed was a brutal attack. Lydia was raped, beaten, and strangled until her jaw was shattered. Her attacker doused her in bleach and set her apartment on fire before leaving her for dead.

But Lydia wasn’t done fighting. Through flames and unimaginable pain, she crawled to her second-story window and jumped. First responders arrived just in time to save her life. Lydia suffered a stroke and spent five weeks in a coma, but her resilience was nothing short of remarkable.

DNA Finally Links Travis to Lydia

Detectives had their suspicions about Travis Forbes’s involvement in Lydia’s attack and placed him under surveillance. Early on July 10th, officers watched as he approached a woman outside a club. When the pair began walking off together, police stepped in, worried the woman could be his next victim.

Travis tried to lie his way out, giving officers a fake name, which conveniently allowed them to bring him in for questioning. Meanwhile, forensic results came back from Lydia’s case. The DNA under her fingernails was a match to Travis Forbes.

This was the turning point. With undeniable evidence against him, Travis could no longer bluff his way out.

A Chilling Confession: The Truth About Kenia Monge

Faced with the evidence from Lydia’s attack, Travis Forbes knew his luck had run out. But instead of confessing to what he had done to Lydia, he chose a different path. In a bid to avoid being labeled a sex offender—a designation he clearly feared more than life in prison—Travis confessed to the murder of Kenia Monge.

According to Travis, the events of that fateful night began with him and a friend spotting Kenia outside the 24K Lounge. They initially tried to find her a cab to get home, but when that didn’t work, Travis decided to give her a ride himself.

After dropping his friend off, Travis realized Kenia had fallen asleep in the back of his van. That’s when his predatory instincts took over. He attempted to sexually assault her, but Kenia woke up and fought back. In response, Travis strangled her to death.

A Shallow Grave in Keenesburg

Travis led investigators to a field in Keenesburg, where he had buried Kenia in a shallow grave. It was there that Kenia’s remains were finally recovered, giving her family the devastating closure they had been searching for.

In the courtroom, Travis pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. His confession spared him from the death penalty, but it sealed his fate: life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Justice for Lydia Tillman

The evidence from Lydia Tillman’s case couldn’t be ignored, and Travis was also convicted for her brutal assault. Lydia’s remarkable survival and her willingness to testify ensured that Travis faced consequences for both of his heinous crimes.

The Legacy of Kenia and Lydia’s Cases

Travis Forbes’s case left an indelible mark on Denver and beyond. Kenia Monge’s murder and Lydia Tillman’s survival highlighted critical failures in the justice system that allowed a known predator to slip through the cracks multiple times.

Kenia’s family has worked tirelessly to honor her memory, and Lydia Tillman has become a symbol of resilience and strength, showing the world what it means to fight back against impossible odds.