The Weld County Sheriff’s Office is happy to announce that a cold case from 2018 has been solved using advanced forensic techniques. Cases like this are resolved due to good old fashioned investigative techniques, paired with modern day technology. The Weld County Sheriff’s Office also has an investigator assigned to work solely on cold cases that lack information.
On Dec. 7, 2018, the Weld County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) was dispatched to an area in unincorporated Weld County, Colo., on a report of human remains that were found while a crew was surveying the land. Upon arrival, deputies were led to the remains, which consisted of a skull, bones, some clothes, a backpack, and other miscellaneous items. The remains appeared to have been there for a long period of time.
The case was turned over to WCSO Investigations to identify the remains; but was not investigated as a homicide.
On July 23, 2020, a press release was issued, including photographs of personal items found with the John Doe along with an artistic reconstruction of his face.
On March 26, 2021, the Sheriff’s Office submitted portions of the remains to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI). CBI obtained DNA from the remains. The DNA was then sent to Parabon Nanolabs for forensic genetic genealogy.
On Nov. 22, 2022, the Sheriff’s Office received a report from Parabon Nanolabs that identified the remains as possibly being Douglas Wayne Jackson, a missing person from Aurora, Colorado. WCSO detectives contacted Jackson’s sister and were able to compare her DNA with his. The results confirmed Jackson’s identity.
The identification of the remains was made possible using advanced forensic techniques, including genetic genealogy, and the Sheriff’s Office is grateful for the assistance of the Weld County Coroner's Office, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and Parabon Nanolabs in this matter.