New information in Jackson County cold case

For nearly 40 years, a homicide in Jackson County, Colorado haunted the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. Since 1987, the identity of the victim had eluded law enforcement until recently.

According to a press release from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, the use of Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy, or FIGG, and other advancements in technology allowed sheriff’s office, the Colorado Bureau of Investigations (CBI) and the Wyoming Department of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to finally identify the victim as 24-year-old Jerry A. Mikkelson.

On October 18, 1987, Mikkelson’s body was discovered on a Forest Service Road located 15 miles north of Walden and 5 miles from the Wyoming border. He was wearing a vest with the initial L.B.L. written on a tag inside of the vest. Soil samples found in his hair led investigators to believe Mikkelson had been murdered in Wyoming and brought to Colorado.

Earlier this year, on June 28, 2023, Mikkelson’s remains were exhumed by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, CBI and Wyoming DCI. This resulted in new DNA samples and the discovery of a large titanium rod in the right femur. Mikkelson’s family was able to confirm he had broken his femur six years before his death, resulting in the titanium rod.

According to a missing person’s report filed by a family member, Mikkelson willingly left his home in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on August 8, 1983. Prior to his death, it is believed he spent time in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Olathe, Kansas, Wyoming and possibly Colorado. Mikkelson was born on August 12, 1963. He was described as being 5 feet, 9 inches in height and weighing about 160 pounds at the time of his disappearance. He had brown eyes and brown hair that was naturally curly.

Any information about Mikkelson or the homicide can be submitted as a tip to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office by emailing [email protected] or leaving a message on the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 970-875-7069.