A Ventura County man who disappeared more than six decades ago has been positively identified as a murder victim whose remains were found in Illinois.
Ronald Joseph Cole was last seen at his family’s home in Fillmore in May of 1965. Investigators were unable to find evidence of a crime.
Still, investigators considered his half-brother, David La Fever, a prime suspect in the disappearance. Their investigation continued on and off for years. La Fever died in 2007 in Alaska.
In 2024, investigators in Henry County, Illinois, reviewed a cold case involving human remains found in the county in 1966. They knew it was a homicide because of a bullet hole in the skull, but weren’t able to identify the victim.
They worked with the DNA Doe project, which helps with cold cases. The DNA was linked to some relatives of the missing Ventura County man. Ventura County Sheriff’s detectives joined the investigation. They determined the DNA was a positive match and that the remains were those of the 19-year-old Fillmore man.
Illinois officials are now pursuing the investigation.
