Man’s Body Found Near Cajon Pass
San Bernardino County authorities Saturday discovered a man’s body near the Cajon Pass and said the deceased could be a convicted rapist’s third homicide victim.
Investigators said the body might be that of Charles Ray Hedlund, 55, of Lucerne Valley, whose wife reported him missing this week after he failed to show up for work after a Las Vegas trip.
The district attorney’s office has issued a murder warrant for John Wayne Thomson, 46, a thrice-convicted rapist, in Hedlund’s death. Officials declined to say how they linked the two men.
Washington state authorities are searching for Thomson in connection with a Longview woman’s death and a Spokane man’s disappearance.
Thomson is 5 feet 9, about 200 pounds, with blue eyes, scars and tattoos, the FBI said.
A man matching that description was seen Tuesday at the McDonald’s near Interstate 15 and State Route 138, said Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Cindy Beavers.
Motorcyclists found Hedlund’s bloodied Ford pickup this week near Cleghorn Road and Interstate 15. On Saturday, authorities found the body west of the freeway near Old Route 66.
The Sheriff’s Department can be contacted at (909) 387-3589; the FBI at (310) 477-6565.
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