Man who vanished from Denver NFL game said he 'had his fill of football'

[October 30, 2014]  By Keith Coffman
 
 DENVER (Reuters) - A man who vanished during a National Football League game in Denver last week only to be found safe days later told police afterward that he had had his "fill of football" and had wanted to go somewhere warmer, authorities said on Wednesday.

Paul Kitterman made national headlines this week when his family and friends asked the public for help in finding the 53-year-old who failed to return to his seat after halftime of the Denver Broncos-San Diego Chargers game last Thursday.

Kitterman was found unharmed on Tuesday night in Pueblo, Colorado, about 115 miles south of Denver, police said.

Pueblo Police said in a statement that they had received a tip that Kitterman was in the area, and officers located him in the parking lot of a Kmart department store.

Kitterman was fatigued but coherent when evaluated by paramedics, police said, adding that he told officers he had had "his fill of football ... and wanted to walk somewhere warmer."

Kitterman had mentioned sleeping in areas with trees and bushes during his journey to Pueblo and even mentioned disposing of his Broncos hat as he did not want to be recognized, the statement said.

Kitterman lives in Kremmling, a small Colorado mountain town about 80 miles northwest of Denver. His stepson, who attended the game with Kitterman, said he feared for his stepfather because he was "out of his element" in the city.

In a posting on a Facebook page set up to help locate Kitterman, his family said they are aware that there are many questions surrounding the disappearance and asked for privacy because they "have been through a lot."

(Refiled to add missing quotation mark in first paragraph and fix typo in paragraph 6)

(Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Sandra Maler)

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