According to the information at Find-A-Grave, Rocky Najera passed away in a fire April 9, 1987 in Seattle
Roque “Rocky” Najera (1965-1987) - Find a Grave...
<<Published in the Cowboy State Daily - Saturday, February 3, 2024
Nearly 40 After Wyoming Man Went Missing, Family Copes With Proof Of His Death
A Canadian genealogist found a key puzzle piece in the decades-old search for a missing Rawlins man, who disappeared in 1985 and apparently died two years later in a Seattle building fire. His elderly parents received the news last weekend.
Authorities tentatively confirm that a death certificate discovered by a Canadian genealogist and former journalist in November is that of Roque "Rocky" Najera, who disappeared from Rawlins in 1985 and has been missing for nearly four decades.
Najera's younger sister, Michelle Jacobsen, said the family was stunned by the discovery.
They knew in their hearts he was gone, because otherwise he would have contacted them, she said. Still, the heartbreak has hit them all as they process the news.
Najera died of smoke inhalation in a fire in an abandoned building in Seattle, Washington, on April 9, 1987, less than two years after he was reported missing. He was 21 when he died, according to the death certificate from the Washington Department of Social and Health Services Vital Records.
Hilary Ibbotson-Machan, a hobby genealogist and former reporter from Brussels, Ontario, found Najera's death certificate while searching Ancestry's online database, in late November. She has an interest in missing person cases and saw a post about Najera on an international missing person's page on Facebook.
She looked him up and was shocked to find his death certificate, but happy to turn the tip over to Wyoming law enforcement. She also notified one of Najera's family members and Desirée Tinoco, founder and executive director of the nonprofit Missing People of Wyoming, who helped coordinate information with Najera's family and police.
Even though it was bittersweet news, Ibbotson-Machan told Cowboy State Daily she was grateful to be able to provide the family with closure to nearly 40 years of wondering what happened to Rocky.
"They have been looking for so long, and you don't have an ending until you know," she said.
Still No Conclusive Identification
Jacobsen and her older sister, Luisa, had been keeping the news secret until a more conclusive identification was made.>>
