Chula Vista

Chula Vista detectives have yet to determine how the hanging death of Jeffrey Scott Hanson happened.

Lt. Dean Girdner said the department is investigating three possibilities: that the 21-year-old Hanson, who was found Saturday hanging nude from a tree in a canyon behind his Chula Vista home, either committed suicide, was killed by someone or accidentally hanged himself.

Earlier, detectives had ruled out both suicide and homicide because there was no evidence at the scene to support those theories. But because of the unusual nature of the death, detectives are holding off on a final determination, Girdner said.

On Thursday, one detective said that investigators were nearly certain that Hanson had accidentally hanged himself in the canyon near Interstate 805 at California 54 while trying to achieve sexual gratification.

“That is a possibility,” Girdner said. “Let’s put it this way: It’s a death with suspicious circumstances.”

Family members have reportedly balked at claims that Hanson accidentally hanged himself.

“The family will only be satisfied when we arrest someone, and there’s no one to arrest,” said one unnamed detective.