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WELD COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — The Weld County Sheriff’s Office says that human remains found near Fort Lupton have been identified using advanced forensic techniques.

The investigation started on Dec. 7, 2018, when human remains were found by a crew surveying land in unincorporated Weld County.

The sheriff’s office said that on November 22, 2022, they received a report that the human remains were possibly identified as Douglas Wayne Jackson, a missing person from Aurora.

After that, detectives reached out to Jackson’s sister and were able to compare her DNA with his, which confirmed his identity.

Timeline of the investigation

Here is a look at the timeline of the investigation from the sheriff’s office:

  • Dec. 7, 2018: Human remains found west of Fort Lupton
  • July 23, 2020: Photographs of personal items found with “John Doe” were released, along with an artistic reconstruction of his face
  • March 26, 2021: The sheriff’s office submitted some of the man’s remains to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the CBI obtained DNA from the remains. The DNA was sent to Parabon Nanolabs to get forensic genetic genealogy
  • Nov. 22, 2022: The sheriff’s office received the report from Parabon Nanolabs that the human remains were possibly identified as Douglas Wayne Jackson, a missing person from Aurora.

The details surrounding Jackson’s death have not been released. If you have any information on this investigation, please reach out to the sheriff’s office at 970-356-4015 or you can remain anonymous by contacting the Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Highlighting cold cases in Colorado

The Problem Solvers are working to highlight cold cases in our state. Here are some of the cases we’ve highlighted:

If you ever have a cold case you would like us to feature, please fill out this form or send an email to dara.bitler@kdvr.com-

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System shows there over 20,000 open missing persons cases in the United States and over 300 in Colorado.