Jeffrey Vaughn Mitchell, 38, a nine-year veteran patrol deputy with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, was shot and killed while on duty in rural Sacramento County in the early morning hours of October 27, 2006. At approximately 3:30 a.m., Mitchell radioed dispatch through his patrol vehicle's onboard computer to report he was stopping a white Chevrolet van near the intersection of Meiss and Dillard Roads in the Sloughhouse area. When dispatch could not reach him minutes later, backup units were sent and found Mitchell mortally wounded; investigators determined he had been shot in the head with his own service weapon after a violent struggle. He was transported to UC Davis Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 4:45 a.m. The van was found the next day, abandoned in the Cosumnes River near Highway 49, containing the bodies of its registered owner, 43-year-old Allan Schubert, and Schubert's 28-year-old companion, Nicole Welch — both later determined to have died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Investigators have not publicly established whether their deaths are connected to Mitchell's killing.
SCSO led the investigation, assisted by the FBI, CHP, and Elk Grove/Rancho Cordova PD. A partial DNA sample and partial fingerprints were recovered but not matched to a known suspect; no suspects or persons of interest have been publicly identified. The case remains open nearly two decades later. Reward: up to $250,000. Contact: SCSO Cold Case Unit, 916-874-5057, homicide@sacsheriff.com, or tips.fbi.gov.
