TOOELE — DNA tests have confirmed the body of an unidentified man found near a water treatment facility 39 years ago is that of a missing Colorado teen.

Now, the Tooele County Sheriff's Office has reopened its cold case homicide investigation into the death of David Stack.

In June of 1976, Stack, 18, of Broomfield, Colorado, left his house with the intention of hitchhiking to California, possibly to visit siblings.

Stack never made it to California. But later that month, the body of a young man was discovered near a landfill outside Wendover. The man had been shot twice and his death was ruled a homicide.

The body, however, was never positively identified. The body was eventually buried in the Tooele City Cemetery as "John Doe."

The case was reopened after a pair of Tooele County sheriff's detectives went to a cold case conference. With the new information they learned on investigating cases, they exhumed John Doe's body on May 12 and collected new DNA and dental samples to be submitted for analysis.

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'John Doe' buried in Tooele 39 years ago believed to be missing Colorado man

Tooele County Sheriff Paul Wimmer said he's confident the unidentified body of a young man found 39 years ago is that of a missing Colorado resident.

The sheriff's office also worked with police in Broomfield, Colorado, who have been in contact with Stack's family. The family submitted their own DNA samples to be used for the comparison to John Doe.

Even before the test results were returned, Tooele County Sheriff Paul Wimmer was confident that it was Stack.

"With the identification comes additional leads in Stack's murder, hence the Tooele County Sheriff's Office has reopened the 1976 homicide case," Wimmer said Thursday.

Anyone with information about the case can all the sheriff's office at 435-882-5600.

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