The search for a missing transgender hairstylist ended in tragedy after police found her body over the weekend. Jax Gratton, 34, was last seen around 10 p.m. on April 15, when she told her roommate she was going out for a few hours but never returned, Denver 7 reported.
Her disappearance triggered a two-month search throughout the Colorado city, with concerns from the LGBTQ+ community that she may have been specifically targeted, 9 News reported. Cherilynne Gratton-Camis, Gratton’s mother, expressed her concerns about her daughter’s disappearance, telling PEOPLE that she had a history of being in abusive relationships. On Saturday, Gratton-Camis confirmed on Facebook that her daughter was found dead.
Tragic End
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“With a broken heart, I share the news that our beloved Jax Gratton has been found – and she is no longer with us,” the grieving mother wrote on a page dedicated to finding the missing woman.
“There are no words strong enough for the grief we are feeling. The light she carried, the love she gave so freely and the joy she brought into our lives have been taken from this world far too soon.”
Gratton-Camis told Denver 7 that she found some solace in knowing her daughter was still wearing the same clothes she had on when she left the night of April 15, indicating that she likely died that same evening.
“She didn’t spend six to seven weeks in horrible situations,” Gratton-Camis said, saying that she had initially received news that Jax was being held captive and was being tortured.
“So knowing that wasn’t true… brings me peace.”
Lakewood police have not officially confirmed that the body found in an alley Friday night is that of Gratton, only saying that it was severely decomposed when a passerby found it.
However, Gratton-Camis said a detective at the scene told her he recognized Jax by her tattoos. “I’m very thankful for that because I would be waiting weeks” for a confirmation, she said.
Cause of Death Still Unclear
Gratton-Camis earlier said that she became worried when her daughter failed to contact the family over Easter weekend—something she described as out of character. Gratton’s coworkers at Solera Salon in Denver, where stylists manage their own appointments, also noticed days later that she had stopped showing up for work.
She finished her final appointment on April 12, but after that she began missing scheduled sessions which her friends described as highly unusual for her.
“It was when she was missing client appointments, especially certain clients who she is very close with, outside the salon, that we realized something wasn’t quite right,” Brandy Carey, her manager and close friend, told KCNC-TV.
“We started communicating with each other — ‘have you seen Jax? have you seen Jax?’ Everybody was like, “no, we haven’t heard from her.'”
The exact cause and circumstances of Gratton’s death are still unknown and are currently being investigated as part of a “suspicious death investigation.”
