Christopher Scott Case : “Colorado Cold Case Solved: Rock Springs Man Identified After 24 Years”

A man walking his dog in a field near Greeley, Colorado, on Valentine’s Day 24 years ago made a chilling discovery – a dead body.

For almost 25 years, very little was known about the body, except that it belonged to a deceased male in an advanced state of decomposition, as stated in a recent announcement by the Weld County Sheriff’s Office.

Thanks to DNA testing, the body has now been identified as Christopher Scott Case from Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Back in 2000, Weld County Sheriff’s deputies and investigators responded to the scene, but found no evidence of foul play. Due to the decomposed state of the body, they were unable to determine the cause of death.

The man was estimated to be between 35 and 50 years old, standing at 5-foot-4, and possibly had a tattoo on the centre of his back. There were no signs of trauma found on the body.

Initially labelled as John Doe, the man remained unidentified for over two decades.

Breakthrough with DNA Testing

In 2022, investigators decided to analyse the man’s DNA, which eventually led them to potential relatives in Nevada. These relatives willingly submitted their DNA for comparison.

Weld County cold case Detective Byron Kastilahn received the breakthrough he had been waiting for in December when the genetic test results confirmed the man as Christopher Case.

Further tests later confirmed this identification, providing closure to the long-standing mystery.

Background of Christopher Case

According to the statement released by the sheriff’s office, Case was residing in Rock Springs, Wyoming before his death. His half-brother last saw him in Nevada in 1998.

While Case had been missing for 24 years and his home was listed as Rock Springs, he was not included in the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation missing person list, which currently contains 94 individuals.

“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,” said Kastilahn in the statement. “After learning about forensic genetic genealogy in 2020, I wanted to try to get all our unidentified human remains (UHR) cases into that process. So far, we have identified three UHR cases and I hope they can all be identified eventually.”

The Weld County Sheriff’s Office remains dedicated to resolving all cold cases, including those involving unidentified human remains.

“In cold cases such as Christopher’s, we relentlessly pursue investigative leads, employ forensic tools and hope that he will be identified so his story will be told and his loved ones will find peace in getting the answers they deserve,” added Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams.

Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.