After nearly 30 years, police have finally identified the victim of a famous Colorado cold case.

According to a Wednesday (May 11) Facebook post from the Montrose County Sheriff's Office (MCSO), the case began in July 1994 when a hiker found human remains on a plateau in the Windy Point area.

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Denver7 reports that police began a lengthy investigation — even creating a model of the victim, known as Windy Point Jane Doe — that, unfortunately, went cold.

Until now.

In the post, MSCO Sheriff Gene Lillard revealed that, in August of 2020, technology advancements allowed law enforcement to submit Windy Point Jane Doe's DNA for analysis.

In April of this year, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) called the MCSO with the news that they had used DNA and dental evidence to identify Windy Point Jane Doe as Susan Hoppes, a woman who disappeared from Pierce County, Washington in 1993.

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"Over the past 28 years there have been several investigators from different Law Enforcement agencies that were involved with the case of 'Windy Point Jane Doe,'" read the post. "It is truly remarkable that technology was able to give closure to the family of Susan Hoppes and to all that was involved in the case. It has always been a goal to determine who she was and what actually happened to her."

MSCO Commander Ted Valerio has traveled to Washington to learn more about the case, which police are investigating as a homicide. According to Denver7, investigators believe a suspect brought Hoppes to Windy Point post-mortem.

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