L.A. County sheriff investigating human remains found in Calabasas near Highway 101
L.A. County Sheriff’s homicide detectives opened an investigation Wednesday after human skeletal remains were found on a hiking trail in Calabasas, authorities said.
Caltrans workers found the remains near the Juan Bautista de Anza East Trailhead on the 25000 block of Calabasas Road about 9:30 a.m., according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Detectives and coroner’s officials determined that the remains were human and are working to identify the body and cause of death.
Authorities initially said the remains belonged to an adult male but later said detectives had not been able to determine the victim’s sex or race.
Sheriff’s Homicide Lt. Rodney Moore said upon an initial examination it was not possible to determine any specifics about the remains including a potential cause of death.
Nicole Nishida, a department spokeswoman said the remains were discovered about a quarter to half-a-mile up the trail.
Two bodies have been found in the area in recent months. The body of Francisco Reynaldo Crux, 52, was discovered in May on Las Virgenes Road near the Malibu Hindu Temple. In July, the body of 19-year-old Roger Chavez Barahona was recovered on an embankment in the 24000 block of Piuma Road.
Crux was killed by blunt-force trauma; Barahona died from multiple gunshot wounds, according to coroner’s investigators. Officials have said that both deaths were gang-related and that the remote canyon roads have been used as dumping grounds for bodies for years.
Anyone with information about the discovery is asked to call the Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.
Times staff writer Alene Tchekmedyian contributed to this report.
Twitter: @jaclyncosgrove
Twitter: @lacrimes
UPDATES:
4:30 p.m.: This article was updated with more information about where the remains were found.
5;40 p.m.: This article was updated with more details about the remains location on the trail.
This article was originally published at 12:30 p.m.
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