JACKSON COUNTY, Colo. — A man who was found dead in 1987 in Jackson County has been identified as the investigation into his homicide continues.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation announced on Wednesday that he had been identified as 24-year-old Jerry A. Mikkelson.
In 1983, his family had filed a missing persons report, which said he left his home in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. They said they believed he spent time in Pittsburgh, Olathe in Kansas, Wyoming, and possibly Colorado.
Mikkelson's body was found on a Forest Service Road about 15 miles north of Walden on Oct. 18, 1987, CBI said.
At the time of the discovery of his body, he was wearing a vest with the initials L. B. L. on a tag.
Soil samples were found in his hair, which led investigators to believe he was killed in Wyoming and brought to Colorado.
On June 28, 2023, his remains were exhumed by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, CBI, and Wyoming Department of Criminal Investigations. They were able to find new DNA samples, plus a surgical titanium rod in his right femur. The investigators confirmed with Mikkelson's family that he had broken his femur six years before his death.
Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy (FIGG) and other technological tools were used to ultimately identify the man as Mikkelson.
Anybody with information about his homicide is asked to submit a tip to tips@jacksoncountyco.gov or leave a message on the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 970-875-7069.
