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Body Discovery May Provide Answers To Years-Old Missing Persons Case

By Matt Kroschel

GUNNISON, Colo. (CBS4) -  The search for a Colorado man who disappeared nearly two years ago appears to be over.

The coroner is waiting on dental records to compare to the missing person's case of Jacob Millison. The remains were found in the same area as his family's ranch after law enforcement served a search warrant this week.

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Jacob Millison (credit: CBS)

They received a tip and found the human remains exactly where that tip lead them, according to a news release issued by the local sheriff.

Gunnison County Sheriff Rick Besecker would only call this a "death investigation" at this point in the case.

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Gunnison County Sheriff Rick Besecker

Millison was 29-years-old when he vanished. His friends have long suspected something sinister happened to the man who was often spotted riding the rural roads around the state on his prized Harley Davidson motorcycle.

That close group of friends launched a Facebook page and have pushed local police to dig deeper into the case over the years.

CBS4 has learned Millison lived on the family ranch outside of town along CR 76.

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(credit: CBS)

Reached by phone Friday, Jacob's mother, Deb Rudibaugh, said she won't comment on the recent developments because of the "active investigation."

She declined to say where the remains were discovered, if they were actually on her property or not.

In August of 2015, she filed the missing person's case with local police, but friends tell us Jacob had not been seen or heard from for months before then.

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(credit: CBS)

The sheriff confirmed what Jacob's friends told CBS4 Friday about the timeline.

Rudibaugh told the Gunnison Times Newspaper at that time that her son had packed some camping supplies, including guns, and left.

She also said her relationship with her son had changed in the months before he disappeared, telling the newspaper she believed he was involved in drugs.

Jacob was also involved in mixed martial arts and trained at a studio in Gunnison before he went missing.

This case remains open and continues to be an active investigation by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the Gunnison County Coroner's Office and the Gunnison County Sheriff's Office.

Matt Kroschel covers news throughout Colorado working from the CBS4 Mountain Newsroom. Send story ideas to mrkroschel@cbs.com and connect with him on Twitter @Matt_Kroschel.

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