Cold Case Closed: California Man Missing Since 1965 Identified After Skull Found in Illinois

Ronald Joseph Cole — last seen in California in 1965 at age 19 and not reported missing until 1983 — has been identified through DNA after remains recovered in Illinois more than half a century ago were linked to him.

Timeline and Investigation

Ventura County records show Cole was reported missing to the Ventura County Sheriff's Office (VCSO) on Oct. 25, 1983, but investigators later determined he had not been seen since 1965. Family members long suspected foul play and believed his half-brother, David La Fever, might have been responsible. La Fever was named as a suspect but was never charged; he died in Alaska in 2007.

"Family members believed Cole had disappeared under suspicious circumstances and suspected Ronald Cole’s half-brother, David La Fever, was responsible for Ronald Cole’s disappearance," the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said in a cold-case update.

Separately, a human skull with a bullet hole was found near Geneseo, Illinois, in 1966 and was classified as a homicide. In 2024 the Henry County Sheriff’s Office reopened and reviewed its cold-case files and partnered with the nonprofit DNA Doe Project to identify possible relatives of the unidentified remains.

In May 2025, Ventura County’s Cold Case Unit began collaborating with Henry County investigators, sharing case notes and comparing details from Cole’s missing-person file. On Jan. 10, 2026, DNA testing confirmed the Geneseo remains belonged to Ronald Joseph Cole. Because the remains were recovered in Illinois, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office now has jurisdiction over the active homicide investigation.

Authorities have not disclosed how Cole’s remains came to be in Illinois or whether they believe he was killed in that state. The identification provides new investigative leads and a measure of closure for Cole’s family after decades of uncertainty.