Wyoming Man’s Remains Identified 23 Years Later In Forensic Discovery

Per a press release from the Weld County Sheriff's Office, on Feb. 14, 2000, a man was walking his dog in a field near E. 8th St. and WCR 43 when he came upon human remains. Weld County deputies and investigators responded to the scene and investigated and found no evidence of foul play.

A short 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, 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 Scott Case 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. 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,” said, Weld County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Detective, Byron Kastilahn.

Regardless of the passage of time, our dedication to resolving all cold cases remains unwavering. 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.