Medical examiner says remains found in Potrero appear to be male and female

A preliminary investigation by the San Diego County medical examiner determined that charred remains found in Potrero Wednesday are human and appear to be those of a male and female.

The two sets of charred human remains were located between a couple of boulders on a hill, 50 to 70 yards from the closest dwelling, near State Route 94, the medical examiner’s office said in a release.

The remains appear to be those of a male and female, but because of heat injuries “they are not visually identifiable,” the office said.

An autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death has not yet been scheduled and notification of next of kin is pending the identification process.

Residents near the U.S.-Mexico border said Wednesday that they had found the bodies, believed to be those of a couple who had been missing since the 7,609-acre Border fire erupted near Potrero last week. Potrero is east of San Diego, just north of the Mexican border town of Tecate.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department confirmed the discovery Wednesday afternoon. Deputies had searched the area Monday and Tuesday but had found nothing, said Jan Caldwell, a sheriff’s spokeswoman.

“We searched the property, which is rather large and difficult terrain,” Caldwell said. “We did not have success … it’s a very difficult property to search.”

Potrero resident Iris Gardner said searchers believed the remains were those of Jim Keefe, known locally as “Barefoot Jim,” and his girlfriend, Kyrie. Gardner said she did not know the girlfriend’s last name. The pair had been missing for roughly a week.

The Border fire, which is now 97% contained, is one of many large fire crews have been battling in extremely hot, dry conditions.

As of Thursday, more than 4,900 firefighters were battling nine wildfires throughout California, according to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Daniel Berlant.

San Diego Union-Tribune staff writer Pauline Repard contributed to this report.

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UPDATES:

10:51 a.m.: This post was updated with details on statewide firefighting efforts.

This article was originally published at 9:12 a.m.