On November 19, 2024, the Coryell County Sheriff’s Office announced a major development in a cold case.
The skeletal remains which were found in 2022 were positively identified as that of Cole Younger Middleton.
He was a 21-year-old man who went missing in 2015.
While the discovery has brought closure to his family, questions still linger about what happened to Cole all those years ago.
Who Was Cole Younger Middleton?
Cole Younger Middleton was a young man from Gatesville, Texas who mysteriously vanished in 2015.
His mother, Julia Middleton, reported him missing on September 29, 2015, after months of not hearing from him.
According to Julia, the last time she spoke to her son was on July 19, 2015.
A relative had arranged a four-night hotel stay for Cole earlier that summer.
However, he only stayed one night before leaving, abandoning his duffle bag of clothes.
Julia’s efforts to reconnect with her son were unsuccessful, and Gatesville Police were unable to locate him
For years, Cole’s disappearance remained a cold case, with no significant leads.
That changed on April 23, 2022, when a caller reported finding human remains on a rural property on Riverbend Lane in Gatesville.
Investigators from the Coryell County Sheriff’s Office, along with Texas Rangers and local volunteers, arrived at the scene.
The search led to the recovery of Skeletal remains, a folding pocketknife and a piece of a T-shirt.
Further searches, supported by Team Texas K-9s, revealed additional evidence.
DNA Testing and Confirmation
The remains were sent to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification for genetic testing.
Julia Middleton provided a saliva sample for DNA comparison, which ultimately confirmed that the remains were her son, Cole Younger Middleton.
“This has been a long, arduous process,” said Coryell County Sheriff Scott Williams.
“Although this was not the resolution we wanted, we are glad to provide some closure to Cole’s friends and family.”
Forensic testing took significant time due to the limited number of labs available in Texas.
Investigators explained that DNA samples needed to be meticulously compared with missing persons databases before arriving at a definitive match.
Despite the identification, the cause and circumstances of Cole’s death remain a mystery.
Investigators have found no evidence of foul play.
However, the rural location of the remains and the presence of wild hogs in the area have complicated the investigation.
Authorities continue to seek information about Cole’s final days and encourage anyone with knowledge of the case to come forward.
Cole Middleton’s name has now been removed from the Texas Crime Information Center’s Missing Person Record.
If you have any information that could help investigators determine what led to Cole’s death, please contact the Coryell County Sheriff’s Office.
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