She Rushed Home To Grab Some Cookies After Class, And Then She Was Intentionally Set On Fire

pictured above Maggie smiles
FBI - pictured above Maggie smiles

On December 1, 2017, Maggie Long of Bailey, Colorado, rushed home after classes to change her clothes and pick up cookies.

She planned to bring the baked goods to audience members at a local concert, which she was managing. Yet, the 17-year-old senior at Platte Canyon High School never made it.

“She told her friends she’ll be right back, and she was never seen again,” said Park County Sheriff Tom McGraw.

Later, as the concert began, her sister, Connie Long, became concerned.

“I had a weird feeling. I knew something was very wrong,” Connie recalled.

“Maggie was responsible, dependable. She had helped organize this concert. There was no reason for her to be late or not show up.”

By 7:00 p.m., Park County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called to a house fire at a Bailey home. According to the individual who dialed 911, people had been inside the residence “causing damage.”

Once authorities were able to put out the fire, they discovered Maggie’s remains in a part of the home that’d been severely damaged by the blaze.

Connie arrived around the same time, seeing a line of fire trucks and police cars outside their family’s residence.

pictured above Maggie smiles
FBI – pictured above Maggie smiles

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“I could still smell the smoke. They had just extinguished the fire. And I was asking, ‘Where’s my sister? What happened?'” she remembered.

Three days later, Maggie’s death was ruled a homicide by the El Paso County Coroner’s Office. It was determined that the teen had entered her home while at least three intruders attempted to rob her parents.

Then, there was a physical altercation between Maggie and the intruders, which was overheard by neighbors. The 911 caller was a tenant renting a guest suite in the Long home who’d heard loud banging sounds.

The intruders proceeded to set the house on fire. Maggie was reportedly “purposely set on fire and burned alive,” but the intruders were able to get out.

They took an AK-47-style rifle, a Beretta handgun, 2,000 rounds of ammunition, jade figurines, and a green safe with them.

At first, investigators thought Maggie’s murder had been a crime of opportunity. Years later, in 2021, her case was reclassified as a hate crime, with authorities stating she might’ve been targeted since she was Asian American.

“The FBI is investigating the murder of Maggie Long as a Hate Crime Matter. A Hate Crime is a criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by the individual’s bias against a race, religion, disability, ethnicity/national origin, orientation, gender or gender identity,” said an FBI spokesperson in a statement.

The Longs are Chinese immigrants who’d resided at their Bailey home for 20 years. They spent years living as refugees in Hong Kong before going to Colorado during the late 1980s to provide “a safe and secure life for their family.”

Maggie’s father, San, initially worked as a Chinese restaurant chef. Once the owner retired, San bought the business and later became the owner of four other restaurants. He and his wife, Hy, also had four children together in Bailey.

According to Maggie’s two sisters, Connie and Lynna, they never encountered discrimination while living in the “small community.” Their house was also secluded, with a mile-long driveway, so Connie stated she was never concerned “about anything sketchy happening.”

Maggie’s case has now gone unsolved for over seven years, but investigators have not stopped their quest for justice. There have been composite sketches released for three suspected men, as well as the make and models of the vehicles they were thought to be driving, including a Ford pickup and a light-colored Chevy Astro van.

pictured above are the sketches released by the FBI
FBI – pictured above are the sketches released by the FBI

Additionally, over 400 tips have been submitted to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, and both state and federal agencies are offering a reward of up to $75,000 for information that leads to the arrest of the suspect(s).

“We believe someone knows something that could help solve this case and bring a measure of justice to Maggie’s family and the Bailey community,” Sheriff McGraw stated.

“It could take just one person to help our investigation, and we are determined to bring a resolution to one of Colorado’s most high-profile cold cases.”

In the wake of the unsolved tragedy, Connie has called her sister’s legacy “pretty amazing,” saying Maggie “left a lasting impact on people.”

“When we get together with her friends for her birthday, I love seeing how they’ve changed and what their lives are like now,” Connie noted.

“So many paths she could’ve gone, but hers was cut short. It’s not fair, and I don’t think we’ll ever understand why. But we can’t let her be forgotten.”

Anyone with information related to the investigation is urged to contact the Maggie Long Task Force tip line at (303) 239-4243.

Katharina Buczek graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Digital Arts. Specializing ... More about Katharina Buczek

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