On September 12, 2022, the Summit County Coroner’s Office revealed the identity of a John Doe found in 2016 in rugged terrain in Summit County, Colorado. With the help of investigative genetic genealogy conducted by the team at the DNA Doe Project, he has been identified as Jeffrey Peterson. Mr. Peterson had not been reported missing because he told his family he was moving out of the country, and they wouldn’t hear from him again. This illustrates one of the greatest challenges in unidentified person cases- his name was not in any missing person database, and his family was not aware he was missing or possibly deceased. Thankfully, the Chief Deputy Coroner in Summit County tirelessly pursued leads in this case and also sought the assistance of genetic genealogists who ultimately provided the final lead resulting in his identification.
Links to news about the identification
Summit Co John Doe 2016 – DNA Doe Project Cases
John Doe found in 2016 near Copper Mountain identified (denver7.com)
Summit County cold case solved after 10 years – YouTube
Remains found by Colorado hikers identified after 6 years | OutThere Colorado