(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)February 6, 2024

Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office Partnered with Ramapo College IGG Center

Mahwah, NJ-  Students of the Ramapo College of New Jersey Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) Center have successfully uncovered the identity of “Beaver Creek John Doe,” now known to be Mr. David Emil Jacobsen, through DNA testing and investigative genetic genealogy. 

In 2011, the deceased body of a male subject was discovered near a hiking area in Beaver Creek, Yavapai County, Arizona. This decedent had no wallet or identification on his person to aid with his identification, which hampered the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office investigation.  More than 12 years passed while hoping for a match through NamUs or the Cogent Automated Fingerprint Identification System, which both yielded unsuccessful results to help identify Beaver Creek John Doe.

Enter the Ramapo College Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center.

Ramapo IGG partnered with the YCSO to provide free case support. A blood blot card for John Doe was sent to Intermountain Forensics in Salt Lake City Utah for DNA extraction, whole genome sequencing, and bioinformatics. Intermountain successfully generated a SNP profile which was uploaded to the DNA databases GEDmatch and FamilyTreeDNA. 

Students in the Ramapo College Investigative Genetic Genealogy Certificate Program discovered the most likely candidate to be David Emil Jacobsen. The discovery of a candidate was brought about by the combination of family tree research and the presence of unique circumstantial details observed by the students. “The case was challenging due to recent immigration on both sides of John Doe’s family trees,” said Cairenn Binder, assistant director of the Ramapo College IGG Center. 

Mr. Jacobsen’s identity was confirmed by the Yavapai County Medical Examiner’s Office through MtDNA comparison from a DNA sample from one of Mr. Jacobsen’s siblings. Mr. Jacobson died of natural causes due to heart complications.

“The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office appreciates the efforts of Ramapo College and their students’ diligent work in this endeavor. We hope to partner with them on other cases in the future,” said Yavapai County Sheriff David Rhodes.

The Jacobsen family is very grateful to everyone for their efforts to bring closure to this painful experience.

For more information about Ramapo College and the IGG Center, visit ramapo.edu/igg.

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About Ramapo College

Ramapo College of New Jersey is the state’s premier public liberal arts college and is committed to academic excellence through interdisciplinary and experiential learning, and international and intercultural understanding. The comprehensive college is situated among the beautiful Ramapo Mountains, is within commuting distance to New York City, was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America by CondeNast Traveler, and boasts the best on-campus housing in New Jersey per Niche.com. Established in 1969, Ramapo College offers bachelor’s degrees in the arts, business, data science, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, as well as in professional studies, which include business, education, nursing and social work. In addition, the College offers courses leading to teacher certification at the elementary and secondary levels, and offers graduate programs leading to master’s degrees in Accounting, Applied Mathematics, Business Administration, Contemporary Instructional Design, Computer Science, Creative Music Technology, Data Science, Educational Leadership, Nursing, Social Work and Special Education, as well as a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

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