WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. — Human skeletal remains discovered in Wheat Ridge more than a year ago have been identified, the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office announced Wednesday.
The remains were identified through advanced genetic genealogy testing and belong to 57-year-old Robbie Swor. His cause of death is undetermined, according to the coroner’s report.
In December 2024, a man prospecting for gold behind the new Lutheran Hospital in Wheat Ridge came upon the skeletal remains and contacted authorities.
Investigators determined the remains belonged to a white male between the ages of 50 and 70, who had been deceased for roughly one and a half to two and a half years, the office said in a news release.
However, initial efforts to identify him using a facial reconstructed sculpture were unsuccessful.
The remains were identified as the Jefferson County Unidentified Male (2024), and the case details were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
Some time later, the case took a significant turn when investigators enlisted the help of a Texas-based DNA testing company, which generated new family leads.
Using this information, Jefferson County investigator Chandler Ellis traced Swor's relatives and confirmed his identity through a DNA comparison, mapping out a comprehensive lineage that led her to Swor.
Relatives told Ellis that Swor had not been in contact with them for about a decade, and he was last known to be living in the Denver area.
Swor will be cremated and returned to his family.