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Mom's heartbreak as hairstylist daughter who mysteriously vanished found dead two months later
A heartbroken mom has posted an emotional tribute after her daughter was found dead, two months after she mysteriously disappeared.
Jax Gratton, 34, had been working as a hairstylist in Denver when she went missing on April 15. Her friends and family had appealed for her whereabouts in online appeals for weeks, with her mom fearing her daughter, who was transgender, may have been killed.
On Friday, her mom Cherilynne Gratton-Camis confirmed the news that her body had been found. Police are now investigating the death as 'suspicious'.
'With a broken heart, I share the news that our beloved Jax Gratton has been found — and she is no longer with us,' she wrote on Facebook. '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.'
In the post about her daughter, Gratton-Camis also paid tribute to the support from the LGBT+ community.
'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. That should never be a fight. And yet it is,' the mother added.
Gratton had vanished after leaving her apartment and telling her flatmate she would be back in three hours. She never returned.
On Saturday, Lakewood Police Department said they were 'investigating a suspicious death' after 'someone discovered a dead body in an alleyway' in west Denver, Colorado, early Friday evening.
'The body was in advanced stages of decomposition and could not be positively identified. It does appear to be the body of an adult,' Lakewood PD stated.
An autopsy with the Jefferson County Coroner's Office was due to be held Sunday to conduct an official identification and to determine the cause of death.
Gratton-Camis confirmed to Denver7 that it was her daughter's body that was found by Lakewood PD, adding that she was identified by her tattoos.
The 34-year-old was wearing the same clothes she left in, which the grief-stricken mother said brought her comfort as she suspected her daughter had died the same night of her disappearance.
"That is comforting to me,' her mother told Denver7. 'She was gone the same night she left her house. She didn't spend 6-7 weeks in horrible situations.'
Speaking to People magazine, the mother revealed that despite having difficult periods with drug and alcohol abuse, her daughter was doing well at the time of her disappearance.
'She operated a successful business,' says Gratton-Camis. 'She has friends that she has been friends with since middle school.'
Her mother also shared that Gratton had donated her time as a stylist to homeless people in the area and adored her family.
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