Authorities said the human remains of a San Antonio couple, discovered Sept. 10 while exploring parts of Comal County, belong to a Schertz man who has been missing for a year and a half.
The couple alerted Comal County Sheriff’s Office deputies to their discovery of the remains, which were later identified as 21-year-old Jacob Dubois, police told Schertz of the case, which began in March last year.
“Schertz Police Department detectives were able to work with the Comal County Sheriff’s Department to expedite the identification of the remains,” the Schertz Police Department said in a news release Tuesday morning. “Detectives were recently informed that the remains recovered have been identified as those of Jacob Dubois, a person who has disappeared from Schertz since March 2021.”
A 37-year-old man and a 34-year-old woman called Comal County authorities around 2:40 p.m. on Sept. 10, said Jennifer Smith, public relations officer for the Comal County Sheriff. The San Antonio couple found the remains in a heavily wooded area at Block 33500 of Stahl Lane in Comal County, she said.
The couple told investigators they voluntarily seek burial information, which they upload to an app so loved ones can locate the final resting places of their deceased and buried family members, Smith said.
“There are a couple of old cemeteries in this area and they’ve been looking for them,” she said. “While they were looking for the cemeteries, she found the possible human remains.”
The Comal County crime scene unit processed the crime scene and took possession of the remains, then brought them to the Central Texas State Forensic Anthropology facility in San Marcos, Smith said.
The case began when the victim decided to hang out with someone she knew, authorities said.
On March 7, 2021, Dubois told his girlfriend he would be meeting up with boyfriend Ethan Beckman, but Dubois did not return home, police said. The next morning, his girlfriend called the police.
Officers contacted Beckman, who told them he and Dubois drove to a construction site near Dubois’ home, police said.
Police still could not locate him as of March 9 and listed Dubois as a missing person.
Detectives spoke to Beckman on March 10, 2021, who reportedly continued to tell them conflicting stories about how long he and Dubois were together. Investigators reported that Beckman was driving a gray 2019 Volkswagen Jetta GTI at the time Dubois disappeared, and around the time his friend went missing, Beckman was involved in an accident involving a car.
“On March 11, 2021, detectives were able to impound Ethan’s vehicle and upon initial inspection it appeared someone attempted to clean the interior to the point that the floor panel was soaked with water,” police said during a news conference in November. “During the search, the presence of blood on and around the passenger seat was also discovered.”
Police arrested Beckman on March 29, 2021 and sent him to the Guadalupe County Jail on a third-degree felony charge of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence with intent to interfere with it.
He remains held under an $850,000 bond.
In November, amid pleas from Dubois’ family for help finding a closure, Schertz police switched gears and began investigating Dubois’ disappearance as a homicide.
Guadalupe County Crime Stoppers offered a reward of up to $5,000 in connection with the case. Friends and family raised additional funds to increase the reward up to $10,000.
Police are continuing to investigate and are cooperating with state and federal law enforcement officials and the Guadalupe County Attorney’s Office, the Schertz Police Department news release said.
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