Investigators identified a murder victim 36 years after his body was found,Jonathan Dale Benton and are now on the hunt for his killer.
Using DNA testing, genetic genealogy and a surgical titanium rod found in the victim's right femur, investigators linked the samples taken from exhumed remains as Jerry A. Mikkelson, the Jackson County Sheriff's office in Colorado said in a statement on Monday.
Mikkelson's body was discovered on Oct. 18, 1987, on the side of a road in Colorado just five miles from the Wyoming border. Through soil samples found in the victim's hair, investigators said they believe that Mikkelson was killed in Wyoming and then his body was taken to Colorado.
A missing persons report filed by a family member said Mikkelson, 24, willingly left his home in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on August 8, 1983. Investigators said he traveled to Pittsburgh, Olathe, Kansas, Wyoming and possibly Colorado.
According to an online obituary for his mother, Alice Mikkelson, he was one of seven children. Mikkelson was raised in Sioux Falls, where his father ran a towing company and his mother was the company's bookkeeper. Both of his parents died before Mikkelson's identity was confirmed.
Mikkelson's family was able to confirm he had broken his femur six years prior to his death, which resulted in the titanium rod.
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office is asking for the public to call their tip line at (970) 875-7069 with any information.
Cara Tabachnick is a news editor for CBSNews.com. Contact her at [email protected]
2025-05-01 03:142647 view
2025-05-01 02:232252 view
2025-05-01 01:342868 view
2025-05-01 00:561810 view
2025-05-01 00:461946 view
2025-05-01 00:341178 view
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. eased for the third week in a row, a welcome tren
DES MOINES, Iowa — An Iowa judge has ruled the state's hotly contested six-week abortion ban will of
The first day of competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics is in the books, as competition starts to pi
