More than 50 years after a teen girl’s body was found near rural Platteville, Weld County deputies say they have identified the girl as Roxanne Leadbeater of Los Angeles and are working to learn more about her disappearance and death.
Roxanne Leadbeater (Provided by Byron Kastilahn / Weld County Sheriff’s Department)
Leadbeater was known as “Jane Doe 1973” until earlier this year, when DNA taken from her body and separate samples submitted by surviving family led to a break in Weld County’s oldest cold case.
“I am glad Roxanne has finally been identified and some of her remaining family members have gotten answers about what happened to her,” Weld County detective Byron Kastilahn said in a statement. “Going forward, I hope to discover what events led to her death and how she ended up here.”
On Nov. 19, 1973, Leadbeater’s unidentified remains were found near the bank of St. Vrain Creek north of Colorado 66. The sheriff’s office located her grave in Greeley’s Linn Grove Cemetery in 2021 and exhumed the body in 2022, hoping DNA forensics could provide new leads for investigators.
Colorado’s Bureau of Investigations produced a genetic genealogy report in February indicating the body was likely that of Leadbeater. While her mother and brother had died, police contacted her first cousins who told them Leadbeater went missing around 1972, when she was just 15.
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The cousins said the family had no connections in Colorado and didn’t know why Leadbeater would be there or whether she was kidnapped or ran away. They said Leadbeater’s family was living in the Los Angeles area at the time, possibly near Redondo Beach, though none of the law enforcement agencies in that area had records of Leadbeater’s disappearance.
After one of the cousins agreed to provide a DNA sample, on Tuesday, the bureau positively identified the body as Leadbeater’s.
“This case highlights the importance of preserving evidence, even for decades-old crimes,” CBI director Chris Schaefer said in the statement. “Advancements in DNA technology have given us a powerful tool to help solve cold cases and bring long overdue answers to the families of victims who were never forgotten.”
The sheriff’s office said Leadbeater’s cause and manner of death are still unknown but invited members of the public with information about her disappearance to contact Kastilahn at 970-400-2827 or bkastilahn@weld.gov, or contact the department’s tip line at 970-304-6464.
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