Jefferson County Coroner's Office

09/01/2026

International Overdose Awareness Day is recognized today, August 31st, 2026.

In 2025, 133 people died in Jefferson County due to drug intoxication or toxicity, and 49 people died from combined drug and alcohol intoxication.

Per the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 70,000 people in the United States died from drug overdose in 2025.

We honor the people who have lost their lives to drug use and overdose and recognize they were more than just numbers. We share these grim statistics to raise awareness of the drug epidemic in our community and throughout the United States.

There are resources out there. There is help for you and your loved ones that may be fighting substance abuse.

Overdose Prevention Hotline 1-800-484-3731

Crisis Service Hotline 1-844-493-8255 or text “TALK” to 38255

Additional resources within Jefferson County and outside can be found at https://www.jeffco.us/3621/Substance-Use-Services

You are not alone. It is not too late to ask for help.

With support and funding from CDPHE through The Prescription Drug Overdose Prevention for Communities grant, JCPH is working to address the harmful impact of prescription opioid overdose in Jefferson County.

08/21/2026

DID YOU KNOW? . . . a Medicolegal death investigation is the scientific and legal process of discovering the cause and manner of all kinds of deaths. Most deaths don’t require a full investigation. If a death occurs in a hospital or in hospice care, we will screen them to make sure we don’t have to get involved and sign the death certificate.

For example, in 2025 there were a total of 5,288 deaths in Jefferson County. Of those deaths, we investigated 1,381 deaths. Every death was reported to our office. If there was a scene, we responded to it. If the death occurred in a hospital or under hospice care, we investigated it for any trauma or injury that may have contributed to the death. If there was none, then their doctor would sign the death certificate.

For a deeper dive, you can see the Coroner’s Annual Review here: https://www.jeffco.us/245/Annual-Review

08/06/2026

is an annual, nationwide community-building campaign that promotes and partnerships. This year it was on Tuesday, August 4th at 4:30 PM and the Jefferson County Coroner's Office was out and about connecting with the community! Thanks to everyone who made it out.

07/22/2026

Every 2 seconds someone needs blood!

Mark your calendar for September 1st to help us save lives by donating blood at our 2nd blood drive of the year with Vitalant Blood.

Sign up early and save time by completing a pre-donation questionnaire before you arrive: https://www.vitalant.org/donate/health-history-questionnaire/fast-track

To donate, sign up here: https://donors.vitalant.org/dwp/portal/dwa/appointment/guest/phl/timeSlotsExtr?token=Z1sapwNs1vnRTtacDGFll6se6xSfVTV%2BPiFv6JFJLes%3D

We look forward to seeing you there!

Vitalant - Colorado

07/16/2026

DO YOU WANT TO HELP SOLVE COLD CASES?

You can help two different ways through DNASolves.

Submit your DNA profile to www .DNASolves.com. If you don’t have a DNA profile you can order a swab kit from Othram Inc., delivered straight to your home. After a simple cheek swab, mail it back to Othram and they will attempt to build your DNA profile. If successful, that information will be uploaded to the DNASolves® registry and will exclusively be used to aid human identification investigations. They do not provide health or ancestry information.

OR

Donate to a specific case on DNAsolves.com. They have posted several open (and solved) investigations that you can read up on and choose to help fund. You can also make a one-time general donation to their efforts or a monthly contribution.

For more information and to order an Othram Swab Kit or donate check out their FAQ at www.DNAsolves.com.

National Missing and Unidentified Persons System - NamUs

07/07/2026

****Human remains discovered behind Lutheran Hospital have been identified as 57-year-old male, Robbie Swor.

Cause of death: Undetermined

On 12/27/2024, an individual was panning for gold along the Arapahoe Bar Gold Panning Park in Wheat Ridge, Colorado behind the new Lutheran Hospital when they discovered human skeletal remains. Our office launched an investigation in tandem with the Wheat Ridge Police Department and the Lakewood Police Department Crime Lab. Our forensic anthropologist determined that the remains belonged to a White male between the ages of 50 to 70 with an estimated height between 5’5” and 6’2”, who had been deceased for one and a half to two and a half years.

Despite our initial efforts and a call to the local community for assistance, we were unable to identify the remains due to their complete skeletal state. The remains became known as Jefferson County Unidentified Male (2024) and the case details were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System - NamUs as UP140606.

A bone fragment of the remains was sent to Othram Inc., an organization that specializes in genetic genealogy testing in The Woodlands, TX. Their scientists developed a DNA extract, and using their trademarked Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing®, they built a DNA profile of the individual. Othram sent our office new investigative leads that included relatives from the early 1900s.

One of our intrepid investigators, Chandler Ellis, took up the cause to help identify the remains by locating surviving family members. Inv. Ellis traced descendants back to the late 1800s in Syria and mapped out a comprehensive lineage. Extensive research led Inv. Ellis to an individual in the family tree with a Colorado connection: Robbie Swor.

Inv. Ellis contacted a close relative and determined that family members had not spoken with Robbie in approximately ten years, and he was last known to be in the Denver area. Othram compared the relative’s DNA with the previously extracted DNA profile, and a positive identification was made.

Now that Robbie has been identified and his relatives have been located and notified, he will be cremated. His ashes will be returned to his family so that he can finally be laid to rest. We honor Robbie’s memory with photographs provided by his loved ones.

NAMI Jefferson County

07/05/2026

🎉🎊🎉🎊 HAPPY 4TH of JULY!! 🎊🎉🎊🎉
Enjoy celebrating this great country's 250th year of independence!

06/19/2026

On this day, June 19th, 1865, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, TX to announce the end of the Civil War and with it, the end of slavery. President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st, 1863, but it took over 2 years for word to get to enslaved populations in Confederate territories.

Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery and celebrates freedom, resilience, community, and hope for the future!

06/19/2026

Our office runs an internship program for both our investigations and our autopsy departments. The interns are often (but not always) in the middle of or finishing up their college education and come to our office to learn more about the job. They get hands on experience and training for several months. By the end of it they can do most of the job they've interned for. Say hello to our newest interns (and farewell to one)!

Carmen is eager to learn the ins and outs of investigations so she can soon become a deputy coroner investigator. She wants to be an investigator so she can help families navigate some of their darkest hours after losing a loved one. (first photo)

Chloe is currently getting her master’s degree in Forensics Investigative Sciences. She wants to be an investigator because she’s a naturally curious person, has an aptitude for science, and she enjoys helping families and her community.

Andrew is our newest intern in our autopsy department! He is currently a third-year student at CSU studying biomedical sciences with a concentration in microbiology, infectious diseases, and a minor in chemistry. He plans to attend medical school to become a forensic pathologist.

And finally, Kailei just completed our autopsy technician internship and recently graduated from undergrad. She hopes to become an autopsy tech (last photo in the middle of our awesome autopsy techs). Thank you for all of your hard work!

04/01/2026

****PRESS RELEASE****

On 03/15/2026, at 1542 hours, the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office responded to Highway 74 near Kerr Gulch Road in Evergreen to assist the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the Colorado State Patrol regarding a fatal vehicle and a pedestrian collision. An uninvolved individual driving on the highway came across the decedent and reported the death. The decedent was identified as 67-year-old male, Michael Longfellow, date of birth 06/24/1958. The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office forensically identified him via fingerprint comparison. The cause of death is pending the completion of the autopsy report.