LONGMONT DNA has matched human remains found west of Boulder in 2002 with a Denver teen missing since 2001. <\/p>\n
Boulder County Coroner Emma Hall said the family of 15-year-old Cristobal James Flores picked up his remains last week, more than 12 years after the boy fled from his Denver home after getting into an argument with his mother over his sexual orientation, according to police reports. <\/p>\n
Hall said two hikers discovered the skeletal remains west of Boulder, southwest of the Silver Saddle Motel, on Aug. 30, 2002. Based on the state of decomposition, she said, he had likely been dead for nearly a year. <\/p>\n
Nothing at the scene offered any clue about his identity, she said, although sheriff's investigators reported the area appeared to be a transient camp. A forensic anthropologist examined the remains and determined they were those of someone age 17-20. A forensic odontologist agreed with the estimate. <\/p>\n
Hall said the remains showed no signs of trauma to the bones, but there was no tissue for examination, leaving little to help determine why he died. <\/p>\n
\"The worst thing is we can't say what happened,\" Hall said. \"He had no ties to Boulder that the family knew of.\" <\/p>\n
Flores fled his home in September 2001, and his family reported him as a runaway in January 2002. His family asked Denver police in 2009 to open a missing-person case. In 2012, they submitted family DNA and the FBI matched it to Flores. <\/p>\n
Once Flores was officially identified, Hall said, Denver police and her office worked to locate and notify his family. His cremated remains were returned to the family last week. <\/p>\n
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Go here to read the rest: LONGMONT DNA has matched human remains found west of Boulder in 2002 with a Denver teen missing since 2001. Boulder County Coroner Emma Hall said the family of 15-year-old Cristobal James Flores picked up his remains last week, more than 12 years after the boy fled from his Denver home after getting into an argument with his mother over his sexual orientation, according to police reports. Hall said two hikers discovered the skeletal remains west of Boulder, southwest of the Silver Saddle Motel, on Aug Continue reading
\nDNA identifies Denver teen who was missing since 2001<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"