A Colorado meteorologist says her life has been upended by an obsessed viewer who may have first been deceived by an online “catfish.”
Kylie Bearse, a weekday morning meteorologist at FOX 31, has endured more than three years of repeated stalking by a 69-year-old man.
The man’s identity is being withheld for safety reasons. He was arrested last month after allegedly following Bearse home from work, violating the restraining orders already in place against him.
Bearse obtained legal protection in 2023 following months of frightening conduct that included unwanted messages, visits and attempts to contact people close to her.
Like many local television personalities, the meteorologist maintains an active social media presence and is expected to interact with viewers both online and at public events as part of her job.
Bearse, 35, first encountered the man at a charity event she had promoted to her followers. She described their initial exchange as “relatively normal,” but said his behavior shifted from friendly to “obsessive” within a year.
“He eventually came and found me at an event I was doing in August 2023, and that’s when I learned he thought we had been married and were in a relationship,” she told Our News Outlet.
The man said they had been communicating for the previous year, leading Bearse to conclude that he had likely been deceived by a “catfish” — someone posing online as another person.
FOX 31 weekday morning meteorologist Kylie Bearse says she has been stalked by a 69-year-old man for more than three years. She believes he was initially catfished by someone impersonating her online
As a local news personality, Bearse maintains an active social media presence and is expected to engage with viewers online and in the community as part of her work
“I believe someone was scamming him and pretending to be me,” she said.
Bearse said she told him she was not the person he had been communicating with and that he had probably fallen victim to an online scam.
“I said, ‘I think you should call the police and I think you should report this.’ He told me he was going to continue talking to that person.
“I thought I had gotten through to him, but it quickly became clear that he was very upset. I felt awful. But the obsessive behavior did not stop.”
The man eventually obtained Bearse’s personal cell phone number and began sending messages there, she said. “He continued even after being told to stop.”
“I told him to stop. I told him not to contact me again, and then it continued on social media, through my work email — he would watch in the morning and email me — and on my phone.”
Bearse said she repeatedly blocked him on social media, only to see him create new accounts and continue contacting her.
He also contacted her relatives, friends and people tagged in her posts, she said, apparently trying to “have a relationship with them in order to get closer to me.”
Bearse said she accepts a degree of “scrutiny” as a public figure, but has seen a surge in fake accounts during the past decade
In messages, the man repeatedly called her his “beautiful wife.” When Bearse traveled, he allegedly commented on her posts with remarks such as, “can’t wait to go there with you,” she told People Magazine.
He allegedly contacted her sister-in-law about buying a painting she had made and told one of Bearse’s friends that he looked forward to taking her to Thailand one day.
Bearse sought a temporary restraining order in September 2023 and said the man violated it more than 50 times.
A permanent restraining order was issued in January of the following year, after six months of alleged stalking.
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The order, reviewed by Our News Outlet, prohibited the man from contacting Bearse or coming within 100 yards of her. It also barred him from posting about her or directing social media posts toward her.
Although Bearse said she understands that public figures face a certain level of “scrutiny,” she described fake accounts and catfishing attempts as a newer and increasingly serious problem.
“I have seen probably 15 fake TikTok accounts, and all these people comment and try to reach others and scam them in that way,” she said.
“I’m on the news for six hours every morning, so you do expect some scrutiny and it’s just part of the job. But I’d say that over the last five to 10 years, the scams and fake accounts have really increased.”
Bearse is among numerous news personalities dealing with impersonation accounts and said the experience has been deeply distressing.
“It’s very anxiety-inducing to think about that and wonder whether he’s the only person out there who believed we were in a relationship.”
Bearse said she heard nothing from the man for 18 months. Then, last month, she said the ordeal resumed when he followed her home from work.
Bearse shared her experience on social media earlier this week, saying she knows she is not the only person who has been failed by the system
Bearse’s alleged stalker, whose identity is being withheld for safety reasons, was arrested last month after allegedly following her home from work and violating the restraining orders against him
She made it safely inside her home, but the alleged stalker went to her front door and rang the bell. Bearse called 911, grabbed her dog and escaped through the backyard.
When police arrived an hour later, the man was still sitting in his truck outside the property. Officers arrested him there.
He was initially jailed on a felony stalking charge, but prosecutors later reduced the case to a misdemeanor allegation of violating a protection order.
Court records show he was released a few days after the arrest on a $1,500 personal recognizance bond.
After his release, Bearse said she no longer felt safe at home and had to find new housing.
Denver prosecutors could have pursued a felony charge but instead reduced the allegations to a misdemeanor as a “judgment call,” Bearse said.
Under Colorado law, felony stalking involves making a credible threat by repeatedly following, approaching or contacting someone, or placing that person under surveillance.
Bearse said the prosecutor claimed the latest incident did not meet the threshold for felony stalking because more than 18 months had passed since the man last contacted her.
The man, who is not pictured, was initially jailed on a felony stalking charge before the case was reduced to a misdemeanor for allegedly violating a protection order (stock photo)
“The Denver DA is not following the law. There is no timeline within the statute. I’ve had multiple lawyers look at it, and I’ve had multiple DAs across Colorado say they are not enforcing it to the fullest extent. That’s what is incredibly frustrating,” she told the Mail.
“It’s clearly stated in the law that he has reached the threshold for felony stalking, and they decided to pursue a misdemeanor.”
Bearse shared her account on social media earlier this week, saying she wanted to speak out because she believes others have also been failed by the system.
“My overall hope is that other women don’t have to go through this, because it’s awful. It’s gut-wrenching. For the first week or two, I couldn’t sleep. I wouldn’t realize that I had gone 24 hours without eating,” she said.
“Once you lose your sense of safety, your whole world changes.”
