After more than six years of uncertainty, police have confirmed that human remains found in Lochbuie, Colorado, belong to Terri Ackerman, who vanished in 2018. The 56-year-old was reported missing by her husband, Delbert Ackerman, after he returned home one August afternoon to find her gone but her belongings untouched.
Her purse, cigarettes, phone, car, and keys were all still inside their house on Poplar Street. Lochbuie Police Chief Tracey McCoy said the remains were discovered on 10 September at the same home where Terri lived with her husband.
“Following her disappearance in 2018, extensive searches were conducted in and around the Lochbuie area with the assistance of multiple agencies, RAMPART Search and Rescue, cadaver dogs, and drone operations,” McCoy said in a statement on Monday. “Despite numerous interviews and investigative leads, limited information was developed at the time.”
According to the original missing person report, Delbert told police that Terri was still in bed when he left the house that morning. When he returned around 2 p.m., she had vanished. The couple’s quiet neighbourhood, about 30 miles northeast of Denver, quickly became the centre of a massive search effort. Law enforcement officers, volunteers, dogs, and drones scoured the area but found no trace of her.
Family members later told investigators that Terri had been upset the night before she disappeared and had voiced worries about babysitting her grandchildren. She had been living with bipolar disorder and depression, for which she was taking prescribed medication. At the time, her loved ones were desperate for answers, but as the years went by, the trail grew cold.
Then, this September, police made a breakthrough when remains were found just north of the county line, near Interstate 76 and East 168th Avenue. The Weld County Coroner’s Office confirmed the remains as Terri’s, finally giving her family the closure they had long hoped for. Still, many questions remain about what happened the day she vanished.
Chief McCoy said the case is still under active investigation and urged anyone with information to come forward. “The Lochbuie Police Department continues to actively investigate this case and is urging anyone with information regarding the disappearance and death of Terri Ackerman to come forward,” he said. “Our department remains committed to seeking justice for Terri and her family.”
For now, the small community of Lochbuie is left grappling with a mystery that has haunted it for years. What began as a missing person case in 2018 has now become a potential criminal investigation, with police determined to uncover how Terri’s remains ended up right back where her story began.
