Case overview
Adolph Coors III, heir to the Coors Brewing Company fortune, disappeared on February 9, 1960, after his car was found abandoned on a bridge near Morrison, Colorado. What began as a missing person case quickly became a kidnapping investigation when a ransom note arrived at the Coors family home. Seven months later, remains discovered in a remote area confirmed that the 44-year-old businessman had been killed shortly after his abduction.
The morning of February 9, 1960
Adolph Coors III left his Morrison, Colorado, home that Tuesday morning, driving toward the brewery in Golden. He never arrived. At approximately 7:55 a.m., a milk truck driver noticed a 1958 International Travelall stopped on a bridge spanning Turkey Creek Canyon. The driver’s side window was smashed, and the vehicle was empty.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputies found blood on the bridge and inside the vehicle. Coors’s eyeglasses, a cap, and other personal items were recovered nearby. There were no skid marks, no signs of a collision, and no indication that Coors had left voluntarily.
By midday, investigators were treating the case as a suspected abduction.
The ransom note and federal response
On February 11, a typewritten ransom note was delivered to the Coors family residence. The note demanded $500,000, included specific delivery instructions, and warned against involving law enforcement.
The FBI entered the case immediately under federal kidnapping jurisdiction. Agents traced the ransom note’s typewriter characteristics and analyzed the language. The Coors family followed the instructions, but no contact from the kidnapper followed. The ransom was never collected.
The suspect and the evidence trail
Investigators identified Joseph Corbett Jr., a 31-year-old man with a criminal record, as a suspect within weeks. Corbett had been paroled from a California prison after serving time for murder. He relocated to Denver in late 1959, worked briefly in the area, then vanished shortly after Coors went missing.
On February 12, the day after the ransom note arrived, Corbett abandoned his Denver apartment. He drove to Toronto, then traveled by bus to Vancouver, British Columbia, where he settled under an assumed name.
FBI agents searched Corbett’s apartment and recovered receipts, handwriting samples, and materials connecting him to the ransom note. Forensic analysis matched the typewriter used for the demand to a machine Corbett had access to. Agents also recovered rope and other items consistent with materials found at the abduction scene.
Investigation revealed that Corbett had purchased handcuffs, leg irons, and a gun in the weeks before the kidnapping. Witnesses placed him near Turkey Creek Canyon on the morning of February 9. His vehicle, a yellow 1951 Mercury sedan, matched descriptions from individuals who had seen a car in the area that day.
Discovery of remains
On September 11, 1960, hikers found human remains in a remote area approximately 12 miles south of Sedalia, Colorado. The location was rugged and difficult to access. The body had been exposed to the elements for months.
Dental records and clothing fragments confirmed the remains were those of Adolph Coors III. A gunshot wound to the back was determined to be the cause of death. Investigators concluded that Coors had been killed shortly after his abduction and his body transported to the disposal site.
The discovery shifted the investigation from kidnapping to homicide.
Arrest and trial
Joseph Corbett Jr. was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in May 1960. On October 29, 1960, Corbett was recognized by a resident in Vancouver and arrested by Canadian authorities. He was extradited to Colorado to face charges.
Corbett’s trial began in March 1961 in Jefferson County District Court. Prosecutors presented forensic evidence linking him to the ransom note, the abduction scene, and the materials used in the crime. Witnesses testified to his movements before and after the kidnapping. The defense argued that the evidence was circumstantial and that Corbett had not been positively identified at the scene.
Corbett did not testify.
On March 29, 1961, the jury convicted Joseph Corbett Jr. of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. Colorado had a moratorium on the death penalty at the time.
Motive and unanswered questions
Prosecutors argued that Corbett abducted Coors with the intent to collect ransom money. The $500,000 demand indicated planning and awareness of the Coors family’s wealth. Corbett’s criminal history, his recent parole, and his possession of restraints and weapons suggested premeditation.
Corbett never collected the ransom. Investigators could not determine why he failed to follow through on the exchange. Some believed the law enforcement response caused him to abandon the plan. Others speculated that Coors may have been killed during a struggle shortly after the abduction.
Corbett never publicly explained his actions. He gave no confession and offered no account of what occurred on February 9, 1960.
Outcome and imprisonment
Joseph Corbett Jr. remained in custody at the Colorado State Penitentiary for decades. He was denied parole multiple times. In 1979, after serving 18 years, Corbett was released under a work-release program. He lived quietly in Denver until his death on August 24, 2009, at the age of 80.
Corbett never spoke publicly about the Adolph Coors III kidnapping. He provided no additional information to investigators or the family. The case remains one of the most extensively documented kidnapping investigations in FBI history, though key details about the abduction were never fully resolved.
The Coors family did not make extensive public statements following the conviction. Adolph Coors III’s death had a lasting impact on the family and the brewery. His son, Adolph Coors IV, later spoke about the case in interviews and writings, describing the personal toll and his father’s legacy.
Where to look next
- Book: “The Death of an Heir: Adolph Coors III and the Murder that Rocked an American Brewing Dynasty” by Philip Jett
- Documentary: “FBI: The Untold Stories” (Discovery Channel)
- Podcast: “My Father’s Killer” (“Dateline NBC”, NBC News)
