Overview
- DNA Doe Project confirmed on Jan. 10, 2026, that remains found near Geneseo in 1966 belong to Ronald Joseph Cole after a 2024 referral from the Henry County Sheriff’s Office.
- Astrea Forensics extracted a usable profile from the skeletal remains and GEDmatch comparisons produced multiple second- and third-cousin matches on both parental lines.
- The FBI determined in 1966 that a bullet hole at the base of the skull caused the man’s death and estimated he had died one to five years before the discovery.
- Cole vanished from Fillmore, California, in May 1965; Ventura County opened a missing-person investigation in 1984 that named his half-brother, David LaFever, as a prime suspect but led to no charges, and LaFever died in 2007.
- Henry County now has jurisdiction over the identified homicide, while Ventura County’s missing-person file remains open and the agencies began coordinated work on the case in May 2025.