Jeffrey Mitchell was a police officer who was murdered during a routine traffic stop in Sacramento County, California, more than 15 years ago, and the person responsible for his death has yet to be brought to justice.
In the early hours of Oct. 27, 2006, officers were dispatched to a location near Meiss and Dillard Roads, just south of Jackson Highway, to check on Mitchell, 38, after he failed to respond to dispatch.
All forms of communication ended with Mitchell after he told dispatch that he was going to stop a white van with a missing rear license plate, according to SF Gate.
When officers arrived on the scene, they found Mitchell near his vehicle with a gunshot wound to the head.
Evidence at the scene suggested that there was a struggle between Mitchell and another person before he was fatally wounded with his own gun.
Mitchell was airlifted to the University of California Davis Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries.
That same day, the van was found abandoned in the Cosumnes River in El Dorado County, about 20 miles from the crime scene.
When detectives searched the van, they discovered the bodies of 43-year-old Allan Shubert and 28-year-old Nicole Welch, who died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Investigators believe that the bodies were inside the vehicle when Mitchell pulled it over, and the driver may have been attempting to dispose of the bodies.
Police officials believe that the DNA evidence found at the scene belonged to Mitchell’s killer.
The Sacramento Bee reported that the “sample wasn’t enough to upload into national DNA databases that could hold a match.”
Sgt. Jim Barnes, who supervises the sheriff’s homicide unit, said “that could change as the result of advancements in the field of DNA extraction.”
According to retired Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Michaela Links, “There’s not a lot of evidence on this case. It’s very difficult for our agency and Jeff’s family to know that this is still not solved.”
“Unfortunately, we have had several officers killed since then. A lot of us have known them and you work the case since you need to work it and you mourn later.”
“But this case is the only one of them that is unsolved, as far as one of our officers being killed in recent times.”
Links went on to say that if anyone has information about the case but is afraid to come forward, he assured them that they would be protected.
They can also submit the information anonymously.
Either way, investigators are eager to get someone to tell them what happened to Mitchell the night he was killed and who’s responsible.
Mitchell began working for the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department in 1997, and he was assigned to patrol services in 2002.
Anyone with information regarding the unsolved murder of Jeffrey Mitchell is encouraged to contact their local FBI offices.