Colorado investigators release forensic reconstruction after remains found in Park County, seek tips
Colorado investigators are asking for the public's help identifying a man found dead in a remote area of Park County. This week they released a new forensic facial reconstruction in hopes that someone will recognize him.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Park County Sheriff's Office, and Park County Coroner say the remains were discovered in May of 2024 on United States Forest Service land outside Bailey, near a secluded camping site.
A botanist estimated the remains may have been there since 2022 or 2023.
For Park County Coroner David Kintz, the goal is simple: giving the unknown man a name and giving his family the answers they deserve.
"We have been working for the last year-and-a-half, and we are trying to get tips on who this individual might be," Kintz said. "That family deserves to know what has happened to them and get that closure."
Investigators say the man was middle aged, likely between 30 and 60 years old, and was somewhere between 5-foot-11 and 6-foot-8. Early forensic work also suggested Eastern European ancestry, but recent genetic genealogy has narrowed that even further. CBI now believes the man has Slovakian DNA, with potential relatives in communities with significant Eastern European communities, including Pueblo. Kintz says that information has helped refine their search and build out leads, but they still need help from the public.
"What we are looking for is tips. Does anyone know who this person might be?" he said. "The assistance of the public is priceless."
To help jog memories, investigators turned to forensic artist Daniel Marion, who created a reconstruction sculpture based on the man's skull. Marion then layers muscle onto the face until he's created a realistic best guess of what the person might have looked like.
"It is a beautiful melding of science and art," Kintz said. "When they get to the skull, they know how to read the attachments where muscles would have been. Then they begin building the face, muscle by muscle."
Kintz said even a lead that goes nowhere is worth exploring in this case.
"If it is not the right person, then we have still eliminated one possibility," he said. "So call in. Do not be hesitant. Worst case, it is not them."
Kintz shared a recent example of how powerful a single tip can be. In a different case, he was able to identify a man whose daughter had not seen him since she was 14. She was 59 when she finally got answers.
"The difference that made in her life after four decades of unanswered questions is why we do this," he said.
Investigators are working with national DNA databases, including GEDmatch, and encourage the public to participate if they are comfortable doing so. They say increasing the number of people in those databases increases the chances of matching unidentified remains to distant relatives who may not even know the person was missing.
Anyone with information is urged to call the CBI tip line at 720-295-6642.