The body of a Colorado woman who had been missing for seven years was found just feet from her house by a man clearing junk out of a garage.
On September 10, the man found a bone he thought might have been a Halloween decoration since fake skeletons were set up around the property at that time, The Denver Post reported.
He called authorities after he and a neighbor determined the bones were real. In late October, police identified the remains in Lochbuie, a town northeast of Denver, as belonging to Terri Ann Ackerman. No cause of death has been released.
Terri, 56, was reported missing from her small, ranch-style home in August 2018 by her husband, Delbert ‘Dale’ Ackerman.
After her disappearance, Lochbuie police and multiple other agencies extensively searched the home and the surrounding area with dogs and drones.
Authorities also interviewed numerous people and reviewed surveillance footage, to no avail.
Dale Ackerman, who has since died, had said that Terri was sleeping in their bedroom when he left for work at 5am on Thursday, August 23. This was the last time he saw her, he maintained.
Terri Ann Ackerman, 56, disappeared on August 23, 2018, from her home in Lochbuie, Colorado. Her remains were found on September 10, 2025, and police confirmed her identity in late October
On that Thursday, Terri paid a visit to her daughter, Ambry Carolus, according to the Greeley Tribune.
Carolus said her mother was acting normal but also described her as ‘down on herself’.
Around 4:30pm, Terri left her daughter’s home, only to call her three hours later upset and crying. She told Carolus that she could not watch her grandchildren the next day.
Carolus said Terri took medication for her bipolar disorder and those pills were missing from the house after she disappeared.
Carolus added that her mother’s condition was manageable and that she didn’t believe it could have contributed to what happened to her.
The next day, on Friday, Dale showed up at Carolus’ door early in the morning to watch the kids, but Carolus’ husband had already taken off work to watch them.
Dale then went home and reported Terri missing to the police that afternoon.
The family has pointed out allegedly strange behavior from Dale on the day of the disappearance, and said the Lochbuie police failed to effectively lead the investigation.
The home Terri lived in with her husband, Delbert ‘Dale’ Ackerman (Pictured: A KDVR reporter knocks on the door)
Dale was never charged with Terri’s death and Sean Ackerman, Dale’s stepson, believes his father could never have killed his stepmother.
The chain of events that led to Terri’s remains being found was triggered by Dale’s death in February 2025 at age 70.
Sean inherited the Lochbuie property Dale and Terri once lived in together, but he decided that it was in such poor condition that he would sell it.
A contact who offered to take scrap metal and other junk away from the home opened up the garage on September 10 and made the gruesome discovery.
The garage was reportedly stuffed with boxes from floor to ceiling and reeked of cat urine. Three feet into the mess of boxes, the man found the bone, Sean said.
Sean said a couple of boxes fell on top of the bone, obscuring it. He wonders if the police ever searched the garage.
He added that none of Terri’s belongings had been touched after he went through a trailer on the property.
‘All of her clothing was exactly where it was,’ he said. ‘Everything that she had on the bed was still on the bed. He still slept on half a bed that he hadn’t cleaned for seven years. Her pictures were there, everything was there.’
‘I just know if my dad would have known she was there, it would have killed him before the cancer did,’ Sean said.
The Daily Mail approached the Lochbuie Police Department for comment.
