Remains of woman, dog found in IE amid search for missing Army officer

KABC logo
Friday, December 1, 2017
Bodies of woman, dog found amid search for missing Army officer
The remains of a woman and a dog were found Friday in Riverside County amid the search for a missing Army officer and her pet terrier.

CACTUS CITY, Calif. (KABC) -- The remains of a woman and a dog were found Friday in Riverside County amid the search for a missing retired Army officer from San Diego and her pet terrier, police said.

Ontario police said the remains were found in a shallow grave in Cactus City along the 10 Freeway and Box Canyon Road.

The discovery was made amid the ongoing search for former Army officer Julia Jacobson and her pet terrier, Boogie.

MORE: Detectives scour desert near Indio looking for San Diego woman's remains

Investigators are scouring a 6 square-mile portion of desert area about 25 miles east of Indio, looking for the remains of a San Diego woman who police say was murdered by her ex-husband.

Though an autopsy will have to be performed in order to confirm the woman's identity, Ontario police suspect the remains belong to Jacobson and her dog.

Ontario police said Jacobson was last seen on surveillance video in the Cactus City rest area on Saturday, Sept. 2. Detectives said they believe her ex-husband Dalen Ware was the last person to see her alive. Ware was arrested in mid-October in Arizona.

According to police, Friday's discovery was made with Ware's cooperation and a cadaver dog.

Five different agencies searched a 6-square-mile area in the barren desert of Cactus City before the remains were found.

Jon Jacobson, Julia Jacobson's brother, said his sister met Ware eight years ago and they married shortly afterward. But he was suspicious from the beginning.

Despite their divorce in December 2016, the family said Ware and Jacobson remained in contact.

Authorities said Julia Jacobson's car was found in San Diego with evidence of her death inside of it. Ware was arrested in Arizona.

If you have any information regarding this case, you're urged to call the Ontario Police Department at (909) 986-6711, Detective Ruben Espinoza at (909) 395-2894 or Detective Brant Devey at (909) 395-2715.

You can also submit anonymous tips by calling WE-TIP at (800) 78-CRIME.