Later, Mr. Beecher had an argument with his landlord, who eventually found that two rifles and ammunition had been stolen from his personal living area, according to court documents.
The authorities said they believed that soon afterward, Mr. Beecher drove to the 4,600-acre ranch in Rio Blanco County, which Mr. Bloomberg purchased in 2020 for nearly $45 million.
The employee — whose full name was initially released by the Sheriff’s Office but who was later referred to only by her initials in state and federal court documents — told the authorities that she was working in an upstairs bedroom at the ranch when Mr. Beecher appeared behind her. He had a large gun “pointed at her face,” the federal complaint says, and, using an expletive, he threatened to shoot her “face off” if she did not drive him around.
While driving, Mr. Beecher forced the woman to make several stops, including to withdraw several hundred dollars from an A.T.M., according to the court filings. He often made “threatening statements,” including warning her that he would shoot passers-by at a gas station if she tried to get help, the documents say.
Mr. Beecher also made the woman sleep in the same bed as him with her head on his chest and her arm around his waist, orders she told the authorities she followed out of fear that he might harm her, according to the documents.
The two were found after investigators said they used an app on the woman’s phone — which was left behind at the ranch — to track her iPad to the Wyoming motel. Officials said she had been directed to book their room under fake names.