Body of gender-swap woman is found months after she vanished from Denver apartment
The body of Jax Gratton - a transgender hairstylist - has been found by police over the weekend after being missing for weeks.
Gratton, 34, was last seen at around 10.pm on April 15, when her roommate said she told him she was heading out that night and would be gone for three hours - but never returned, Denver 7 reports.
Her disappearance sparked a two-month long search around the Colorado city, as members of the LGBTQ + community feared she may have been targeted, according to 9 News.
Gratton's mother, Cherilynne Gratton-Camis, also expressed her concern about her daughter's disappearance - telling PEOPLE that she had previously been in abusive relationships.
Gratton-Camis then announced on Facebook Saturday that her daughter was found dead.
'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.'
Still, Gratton-Camis told Denver 7 she found comfort in learning that her daughter was wearing the same clothes she left in on the night of April 15 - suggesting she died the night of her disappearance.
'She didn't spend six to seven weeks in horrible situations,' Gratton-Camis explained, noting that she had received reports that Jax was being held captive and was being tortured.
'So knowing that wasn't true... brings me peace.'
Lakewood police have not yet confirmed the body that was found in an alley Friday night is that of Gratton - only saying that it was in an advanced stage of decomposition when a bystander made the discovery.
Gratton-Camis said a detective at the scene told her he visually identified Gratton through her tattoos.
'I'm very thankful for that because I would be waiting weeks' for a confirmation, she said.
Gratton-Camis had previously said she became concerned when her daughter did not reach out to the family over Easter weekend, which she said was 'unusual.'
Gratton's coworkers at Solera Salon in Denver, where stylists manage their own schedules, also realized days later that she had not been coming into work.
She completed her last appointment on April 12, but days later, she started missing scheduled sessions - something her friends said was completely out of character.
'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."'
Gratton's cause and manner of death remain unclear, and are now the subject of a 'suspicious death investigation'.
In the meantime, her mother thanked community members for joining in the search for her daughter.
'I want to thank everyone - near and far- who has shown up for us,' she wrote on Facebook.
'Everyone who sent out a prayer, a hope, a kind thought. Everyone who hit the ground running and hasn't stopped.'
'This has opened my eyes in ways I can't ignore - it's not just about Jax - it's about all of you in the LGBTQIA+ community who face the world every day with courage, just wanting to live, love and exist safely and equally,' she added.
'That should never be a fight. And yet it is.'
The heartbroken mother went on to call Gratton a 'light.'
'She lit up so many lives just by being herself. Unapologetically. Fiercefully. Fully,' she wrote. 'I see her in every act of love and strength you've shown and I wish peace, love and protection for all of you.'
Gratton-Camis also told Denver 7 she wants her daughter to be remembered as someone who was not afraid to take a stand.
'I want her legacy to be her positivity,' she said.
'She educated so many people. She would talk to people of all ages. She did haircuts for the homeless.
'She would never advertise that or post on Facebook because she felt everybody deserved to feel beautiful and clean.'
But Gratton would often shared personal milestones with her followers. As a transgender woman, she documented her surgical journey openly. In March 2023, she marked a major milestone - her first year sober.
'I am no longer running away from my emotions and feeling, that I'm walking in the light of a spiritual path,' she wrote at the time.
'The love and support that has been shown and given to me, makes me value my self worth, I deserve a life of freedom filled with love and growth. Blessed it be!!!'
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