WELD COUNTY, Colo. — A 24-year-old cold case from Colorado has been solved after a body that was found in Greeley, Colorado, was discovered to be a missing man who was living in Rock Springs at the time of his disappearance.
The Weld County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado said on Valentine’s Day in 2000, a Greeley man walking his dog came upon human remains, and while investigators made efforts to identify the body, they ultimately named the unidentified male, John Doe 2000. The body has now been identified as Christopher Scott Case of Rock Springs.
When the body was initially discovered, WCSO deputies and investigators responded to the scene and investigated and found no evidence of foul play.
According to the WCSO, ashort time after the male was found, his remains were sent to an anthropologist who determined they were of a white male, aged 35-50 years old, and 5’4″ tall. The male’s body weight could not be determined, and it was believed he had a possible tattoo in the center of his back. There was no indication of trauma, and no cause or manner of death could be determined due to the male’s advanced state of decomposition. WCSO investigators named the unidentified male found on Valentine’s Day of 2000, John Doe 2000.
In 2022, forensic genetic genealogy was done with DNA from John Doe 2000’s remains which led to relatives in Nevada, who willingly submitted their DNA to help solve this case.
In December of 2023, WCSO Cold Case Detective Byron Kastilahn got the break he had been waiting for when the results of the genetic genealogy testing returned, and John Doe 2000 was tentatively identified as, Christopher Scott Case. Further genetic testing was carried out to confirm that the remains were indeed those of Christopher Case, and the test results affirmed this.
Before his death, Christopher was living in Rock Springs, Wyoming and was last seen by his half-brother in 1998 in Nevada.
“This case was as cold as they get. There was no evidence other than the human remains. If not for forensic genetic genealogy, Christopher Case would not have ever been identified,” Kastilahn said.
