Woman Sought After Alleged Columbine School Threats, Found Dead

Sol Pais, the 18-year-old woman suspected of making threats towards Denver-area schools including Columbine High School, has been found dead, officials say. Investigators closed in on the teen Wednesday near the Echo Lake Lodge at the base of Mount Evans in Clear Creek County, CBS Denver reported.

Officials said at a press conference Wednesday Pais was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

A total of 20 or 30 armed officers, including a SWAT team, and a Clear Creek County snowcat were seen near the campground in the Arapaho National Forest Wednesday morning, according to the station.

The alleged threats led to the closure of school for more than half a million students on Colorado's Front Range Wednesday. The threats came days before the 20th anniversary of the deadly shooting at Columbine High School.

Authorities had been conducting a "massive manhunt" for the Florida teen they said was  "infatuated" with the Columbine school shooting, which left 13 people dead in 1999.

Pais traveled to Colorado from Miami on Monday night and bought a pump-action shotgun and ammunition, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and the FBI. She was considered armed and extremely dangerous.

Authorities did not disclose the nature of the threat, but said they considered it credible.

All schools in the Denver vicinity were urged to tighten security because the threat was deemed "credible and general," said Patricia Billinger, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Public Safety.  

Late Tuesday night, several districts announced schools would be closed Wednesday. Among them were Denver Public Schools and Jeffco Public Schools, short for Jefferson County, the district that includes Columbine High.  

The FBI Denver tweeted Wednesday there was no longer a threat to the community.