Friends Applaud Arrest In Years Old Murder
Gunnison, Colo. (CBS4) - When 29-year-old Jacob Millison disappeared in May of 2015 his friends knew something horrible had occurred.
They never gave up the fight to find out what happened and who was responsible.
"The biggest thing is getting closure on the whole thing," friend Randy Martinez told CBS4.
Last year that same group of friends reached out to CBS4 asking us to help them find answers to why their friend was still missing.
They were the ones who originally reported him missing in May 2015, it wasn't until months later in August when his own family members filed a missing persons report with local authorities.
Martinez always suspected his friend's own family members were somehow connected to his disappearance.
"Literally days before he went missing he told us if anything ever happened to him, it was his family," Martinez says.
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The friends started a Facebook page, kept up pressure on investigators.
A tip led police to an area on that ranch last summer where They made the discovery of human remains.
It took weeks for DNA to make a positive identification. The investigation continued. Then Wednesday, word started to spread around the small community that police were back out at the ranch in force. Dozens of local and state police descended on the property, with an arrest warrant for Jacob's sister: Stephanie Jackson.
"We kind of figured it all along- he is the type of person who would never just take off and leave and that's what they (his family) said he did," Martinez said.
While the motive to his killing is still being investigated his friends say it has to do with the massive ranch property and fighting within the family over money.
Investigators have not ruled out more arrests linked to the case. But for his friends, this arrest marks a win after nearly three years of fighting for answers.
"I think there probably would have eventually been an arrest but yeah I think us keeping in their mind was helpful," Martinez added.
The group of friends are planning a memorial service, now that they know Millison is sadly not coming back.
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.
