Daily Sentinel, The (Grand Junction, CO) October 30, 2004
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Missing woman's skull ID'd from 1997
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By MIKE WIGGINS
The Daily Sentinel
A skull found earlier this month in northwestern Colorado has been identified as that of a Grand Junction woman whose husband was a suspect in her disappearance seven years ago, authorities said Friday.
Sabrina Bebb-Jones was last seen in the city on Sept. 16, 1997, and she was reported missing two days later. Police launched an in-depth investigation and considered her disappearance a homicide. But her husband, Marcus Jones, rebuffed efforts to question him about his missing wife, and detectives hadn't received any leads in the case for years.
A rancher discovered the skull on Oct. 2 while driving cattle near the summit of Douglas Pass in western Garfield County. Investigators brought the skull to Dr. John Bull, a forensic odontologist in Grand Junction who used dental records to identify it.
It's unknown how Bebb-Jones, 31, died. A search party returned to the area where her skull was found to look for more bones but didn't find any.
The Garfield County Sheriff's Department, which is conducting a joint investigation with the Grand Junction Police Department into Bebb-Jones's death, announced the identification in a release Friday but released no other information. Sheriff Lou Vallario and Undersheriff Tim Templon could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.
Bebb-Jones, who along with her husband owned the Hotel Melrose on Colorado Avenue at the time she disappeared, was last seen in Grand Junction leaving the hotel in a van with her 3-year-old son. A young English woman staying at the hotel reported her missing Sept. 18, 1997, telling police that Jones said his wife left town after the couple argued Sept. 16 at Mesa Mall.
Jones and the 3-year-old left Grand Junction on Sept. 17, telling the English woman they were going to look for Bebb-Jones in Las Vegas, where she was raised and had family.
The next day, Jones, the boy and a woman checked into a motel in Salina, Utah. Motel and restaurant workers identified the woman with Jones as Bebb-Jones.
Six hours after checking in at the Salina motel, Jones and his son checked out and drove to Las Vegas.
On Sept. 21, the child was found alone in a Las Vegas hotel room and was taken into custody by Nevada child protective services. The next day, Jones attempted suicide by shooting himself in the head in another hotel room.
The Hotel Melrose remained closed for most of October while Jones remained in Las Vegas trying to get his son back. He returned to Grand Junction in November to resume running the hotel.
In December, he applied to be a conservator for his wife's possessions, which included a van, the hotel and a house. He was granted conservatorship in May 1998.
Later that summer, Jones sold the Hotel Melrose and moved back to his native England to be with his son and mother.
With the discovery and identification of Bebb-Jones's remains, Grand Junction Police Chief Greg Morrison said detectives have turned over reports and evidence to Garfield County, the lead agency in the investigation.
Morrison said the break in the case should begin providing some closure to Bebb-Jones's family and a direction for investigators in a case that was cold for a long time.
"Now, at least her fate is known to us," he said. "It's no longer a case that's in limbo. We have a case with focus and direction."
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