DENVER (KDVR) — There are hundreds of unsolved homicide cases, long-term missing person cases, and unidentified remains cases in Colorado where at least three years have passed since the crime happened.
The Colorado cold case task force created a list of those cases dating back to 1970. The Problem Solvers are working to highlight cold cases in our state.
Who murdered Stephanie Bauman?
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation and Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office are working to solve a cold case murder from Oct. 28, 1980, exactly 42 years ago.
Investigators say that Stephanie Bauman’s body was found bruised and lying in a ditch off County Road 173 near US 36. Her clothes were found in a pile nearly a mile away from her body.
The sheriff’s office said Bauman died due to hypothermia.
Prior to her murder, the sheriff’s office said Bauman, 15, lived in a group home for severely troubled kids who had nowhere to go. Two weeks before she was found dead, Bauman reportedly ran away from the group home.
During the investigation, deputies learned that Bauman was in the process of contacting out-of-state family members to arrange returning home.
To this day, her case remains unsolved.
The sheriff’s office said there are DNA samples taken during the investigation as evidence.
If you have any information regarding this case, you are encouraged to contact Arapahoe
County Sheriff’s Office at 303-795-4711, or email coldcase@arapahoegov.com.
Highlighting cold cases in Colorado
Here are some of the other cases we’ve highlighted:
- Cold case: Who murdered Jennifer Larsen 27 years ago?
- Cold case: Who shot David Williams to death in 2005?
- Cold case: Who murdered Maggie Long 1,651 days ago?
- Cold case: What happened to Elizabeth Miller 40 years ago?
- Cold case: Who kidnapped Christopher Abeyta 35 years ago?
- Cold case: Who killed JonBenét Ramsey 25 years ago?
- Cold case: Who killed Jessica Bejarano 15 years ago
- Cold case: Where is Terri Ackerman?
- Cold case: Who killed Richard Elliott at a grocery store 23 years ago?
- ‘Don’t ever give up hope’: Cold case: Who killed Edward Steinbach?
- Cold Case: Who killed Denise Davenport 37 years ago?
- Cold case: Who murdered James O’Neal Johnson 23 years ago?
- Cold case: Where is Jennifer Lynn Marcum?
- Cold case: Who murdered Daniel Lell in Aurora in 2013?
- Missing: Highlighting the search for people missing in Colorado
- 18 people remain unidentified in Denver since 1970
If you ever have a cold case you would like us to feature, please fill out this form or send an email to dara.bitler@digital-staging.kdvr.com-
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System shows there are currently 21,556 open missing persons cases in the United States and over 300 in Colorado.