Whitefish Police arrest California fugitive

A California physician accused of attempted murder and attempted child abduction was arrested early Wednesday morning by the Whitefish Police Department.

According to information from the Whitefish Police Department, at about 5:15 a.m. Wednesday, members of the department and the Northwest Drug Task Force arrested Dr. Theresa Lynn Colosi, 55, of San Jose, California, on a $1 million warrant for attempted murder and attempted child abduction.

Whitefish Police received a request for assistance from the Santa Barbara, California, Sheriff’s Department, which alleged Colosi, an orthopedic surgeon, had assaulted a court-appointed observer during a court-ordered supervised visit with her child.

The observer reportedly was seriously injured. However, Colosi’s attempt to abduct the child was unsuccessful.

Santa Barbara law enforcement also stated that Colosi had withdrawn a large amount of cash from one of her accounts and had chartered an aircraft to Glacier Jet Center at Glacier Park International Airport.

Further information indicated Colosi was staying at an address in Whitefish.

Knowing that, officers conducted a surveillance of the residence and saw a taxi pick up a woman at approximately 5 a.m. Wednesday.

The woman matched the description of Colosi and she was arrested without incident by Whitefish police after they stopped the vehicle.

Colosi is currently being held at the Flathead County Detention Center awaiting extradition to California. The investigation is ongoing.

Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.