Bones Discovered by Hiker Believed to Be a Woman’s

Human bones found by a hiker Sunday evening off Gypsum Canyon near the Riverside Freeway had been in the brush one to two months and are those of a woman with blond or brown hair, authorities said.

Meanwhile, Sheriff’s Department investigators were joined Monday by Judy Suchey, professor of anthropology at Cal State Fullerton and one of the nation’s handful of experts in the field of deducing a person’s age, race, sex and other attributes from such remains.

Suchey confirmed she was examining the Gypsum Canyon remains but would not comment further.

Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Lt. Richard J. Olson said the skull and jawbones were still intact, making it possible to identify the body through dental records. Investigators did not yet know the age of the woman, whose height was about 5 feet, 4 inches, Olson said.

Detectives also could not yet say whether the death was murder, suicide or accidental, Olson said, but he added that homicide investigators were working on the case.

Bones from the body were scattered over a 100-yard area when an unidentified hiker found them, Olson said. He would not say whether clothing or other personal items had been found in the small grass clearing about 50 yards off Santa Ana Canyon Road on a hillside of brush and oak trees.

The body was apparently not concealed under dirt or leaves, Olson said.

Bob Cluff, who leases the Oak Creek Ranch that borders the site, said his family often sees people parked at night drinking beer or stopping to relieve themselves near where the remains were found.

Cluff also said police had found a murdered couple several years ago about 100 yards east of where the woman’s bones were found.

Olson said he recalled earlier cases of bodies found in the same general area, but he could not remember any specifics.