GATESVILLE, Texas (KXXV) — After nearly nine years, a cold case has been solved following the discovery of human bones in a remote area.
"You don't want to think of anybody being lost or missing or their friends or family wondering about them," Heather Ashley, who followed the case, said. For some people, it did rattle them because you want to know what happened."
In September 2015, Julia Middleton reported that her 21-year-old son, Cole Middleton, was missing.
"It turned into more than that," Georgiana Cleverley, with the Gatesville Police Department, said.
"We soon realized it was probably more than him just hanging out with friends and not contacting his family. We followed the leads as best we could – there weren't many – and it became a cold case."
It wasn't until 2022 that Coryell County sheriff's deputies were called out to a property by a caller who found bones.
By the end of that night, law enforcement not only confirmed it to be human remains but also found a pocket knife and a piece of a t-shirt.
"When the remains were found, that was one of the first things we thought of, 'Oh, that might be Cole,' because of the vicinity of where the remains were found," Cleverley said.
The remains were then sent to Fort Worth. Through a lengthy analysis and comparison with his mother's DNA, it is now confirmed the remains are, in fact, Middleton's.
The lingering question is: Why and how did this happen?
Cleverley said they still don't know.
As for Middleton's loved ones and the community, the hope is that this brings closure and peace, as we now know Middleton has been found.
"I think just the whole closure, having and bringing him home, and letting those who cared about him and those that followed the story know there was an ending, but it wasn't an ending anybody wanted," Ashley said.
Gatesville PD removed Middleton from the Texas Crime Information Center missing person record late last week.
