OGDEN, Utah, Nov. 5, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Detectives with the Weber County Sheriff‘s Office have solved part of the mystery in a 1992 suspicious death cold case, and are hoping the public can provide more answers.
In the spring of 1992, deputies responded to a large fire in a field near 21st South and Interstate 15. They arrived to find a burning boat with an unrecognizable body inside, WCSO Detective Hebden said in a video the department posted on its Facebook page.
The medical examiner determined the charred remains were those of a male, age 30 to 45, but his teeth didn’t match the dental records of anyone known to be missing in Utah or surrounding states, Hebden said.
“Over the years, more attempts were made to identify the subject, including submitting his DNA into national databases, but all attempts were unsuccessful, with no victim identification and little physical evidence,” Hebden said. “The case has been cold for the last 32 years.
“This year, however, the Weber Metro Cold Case task force was formed in order to get a fresh set of eyes and ideas on these important cases, the Weber County Sheriff’s Office contributes multiple detectives to the task force, and this case in particular was examined by our detectives with a fresh look at the investigation. Detectives set out on identifying the victim by using advanced DNA testing, including investigative genetic genealogy testing.”
The remains were determined to be those of 30-year-old Kevin Lynn Capps. He left behind a 4-year-old daughter, the detective said.
The daughter, Chelsea LaRoe, appeared in the WCSO video, as did Rhonda Capps, the sister of the deceased. LaRoe said officers contacted her on Aug. 12 of this year, saying they had information on one of her relatives.
“I thought, I don’t have any family members in Weber County, and they told me it was about my dad, Kevin Capps,” she said. “I spent my entire life wondering why he left and if he ever thought about me as a kid growing up. It made me sad, angry and filled with questions. On that day in August, I found out that he had died, April 16, 1992, in Ogden, under mysterious circumstances.
“Although that day gave me some closure of knowing, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so I just did both. The day after I found out about Kevin, my mom and I went to the cemetery in Ogden, where he was buried in an unmarked grave. Detectives met us there and helped us locate him.”
LaRoe said she is hoping someone will come forward “if somebody knows something.
“I will forever be grateful for the detective who helped in this,” she added.
