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Detectives working to identify remains of a man found in eastern Pueblo County

PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo (KRDO) -- After months of investigation, detectives hope new facial reconstruction sketches will help identify the remains of a man found in eastern Pueblo County.

Detectives with the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office said the remains were found in September 2022. The sheriff's office said a forensic anthropologist determined the man was between the ages of 30 to 50 when he died.

According to the sheriff's office, the remains were also reviewed by a forensic odontologist. However, that didn't lead to any answers either.

"This individual is a denialist, meaning that he doesn't have teeth and he wore dentures. So that made it a little bit more difficult in identifying him because we didn't have that," explained Detective Vanessa Simpson, the lead detective on this case.

Simpson said facial reconstruction was started because DNA was taking long through the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

She began working with a forensic artist out of Florida to develop facial reconstruction photos that could provide answers as to who he is.

PCSO

According to the sheriff's office, the forensic analysis suggests the remains belong to a Caucasian man. The forensic artist has created alternate hairstyles and facial hairstyles since it is unknown what the man may have looked like at the time of his death. His hair color and eye color are unknown. The man could have also had tattoos and/or piercings.

Based on the recently completed reconstruction photos, the Sheriff’s Office is hoping someone will
recognize the man.

"We really want to be able to identify this person, maybe give some of his family some closure," said Simpson.

Simpson told KRDO there is some suspicion of foul play involved in the man's death.

"If there was a crime committed here, we definitely want to get to the bottom of that," said Simpson.

Simpson said if they're unable to come up with a good ID through the facial reconstruction, the next step is submitting his DNA profile through a genetic genealogy company.

"Hopefully they would be able to identify him through a family link through the DNA," said Simpson.

According to the sheriff's office, this case is still an active and ongoing investigation.

Anyone who may have seen this man or know who he is, contact Detective Simpson at (719) 583-
6436.

This case is just one of four cases the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office is working on involving unidentified remains

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Barbara Fox

Barbara is a reporter based out of Pueblo for KRDO NewsChannel 13. Learn more about her here.

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