Authorities in El Paso County are hoping for a new lead in a decades-old case

El PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO)- Towana Lewis was last seen back in 1988. Investigators say even after all these years, a small detail remembered by someone could be the key to solving her murder.

Lewis was reportedly seen at Prospect Lake days before she disappeared in early September 1988, and three days later, on September 11, her body was discovered in an irrigation ditch off Goldfield Road near the Widefield Subdivision.

Investigators at the El Paso County Sheriff's Office (EPSO) say Lewis died from strangulation, but they are also asking about Sergeant Darwyn Jones, a former Fort Carson soldier.

Detectives say he knew Towana and might have known what she was doing before she died. Jones has since passed away, according to EPSO.

"Ultimately, that’s what we’re trying to do is solve these cases, and a lot of times, people don’t think what they know is important," said Kurt Smith, Sergeant with the El Paso County Sheriff’s office. "We’ve seen in the past where cases, similar cold cases have been solved by one conversation because that person just had information they didn’t think was relevant and didn't think it was important, but it opened up the case for us.” 

El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is pleading for anyone with memories, no matter how seemingly minor, of Towana Lewis or Sergeant Jones to come forward. 

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