Yuma, Arizona (AZ Family) — A charred corpse found in a bonfire near the Fort Yuma Reservation has been identified.
Investigators with the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office confirmed it was Jacob Sims, 23, a Yuma man who was reported missing about two weeks ago.
He was found in a neighborhood in Winter Haven, California, just three miles north of the Arizona state line. Investigators say a nearby resident noticed what appeared to be a body in the ashes of the bonfire.
The coroner’s office with ICSO was able to match Jacob’s DNA to that of his family.
His grandmother, Genia Sims, said she knew something was wrong when Jacob stopped calling.
“He didn’t call me for more than a day, and he didn’t call me. His phone was off. I knew something was wrong,” Genia said. I did.
She cherishes her last conversation with Jacob and hopes he will be remembered as a loving young man.
“He was a free spirit and made friends wherever he went. In the area where we lived, when we moved, he would walk around meeting people. If there were people working, he would go home and take a pitchfork and go help them,” Genia said.
Jacob was creative and loved sports, said his mother, Nicole.
“He was good at everything: hockey, baseball,” she said. “He always wanted to make people laugh. He had a very kind heart.”
No arrests have been made in this case, but the Sims family is hoping someone comes forward.
“It means we can seek justice for him. We can find answers and we won’t stop,” said Jayden Curry, Jacob’s cousin.
ICSO could not confirm the cause of death, but is investigating the incident as a homicide.
Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s office.
“If you know anything, any little information, anyone who saw him last, anyone who was with him, anything will help us,” Genia said.
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