Credit: Othram
On Dec. 27, 2024, skeletal remains of an unidentified individual were discovered at Arapahoe Bar Gold Panning Park in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. The Jefferson County Coroner's Office responded and began collecting evidence and investigating. Investigators determined the remains likely belonged to an adult White male between the ages of 50 and 70 years old. The remains were in a near-complete or complete skeletal state, and no identification was found, making it impossible to identify the individual at the time.
Despite investigative efforts, the man could not be identified and became known as Jefferson County John Doe (2024). Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP140606. He became known as Jefferson County John Doe (2024).
In 2025, the Jefferson County Coroner's Office submitted forensic evidence to Othram in The Woodlands, Texas to determine if advanced DNA testing could help identify the man. Othram scientists successfully developed a DNA extract from the provided evidence and then used Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing to build a comprehensive DNA profile for the man. Othram's in-house forensic genetic genealogy team used the profile in a genetic genealogy search to develop new investigative leads that were returned to law enforcement.
Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the man. This investigation led to the positive identification of the man, who is now known to be Robbie Michael Swor, who was born in 1968.
Advanced DNA testing conducted at Othram was paid for in part by generous DNASolves crowdfund donors, law enforcement, and NamUs, a national program that assists the criminal justice community with the investigation and resolution of missing, unidentified, and unclaimed persons cases across the United States and its territories. NamUs is funded and administered by the National Institute of Justice and is managed through a contract with Research Triangle Institute International.
This is the 8th publicly announced case in the State of Colorado where officials leveraged Othram's identity inference pipeline. To learn about others cases, visit Othram.com.
Republished courtesy of DNASolves