Local News in Brief : 2 Bodies Found in Park; Trails Closed

Homicide detectives closed Griffith Park to traffic and kept joggers off some trails early Wednesday as they investigated the deaths of two men in a van parked on a lonely road.

Park rangers discovered the bodies about 10 p.m. Tuesday while checking the area to make certain that all visitors were gone for the night.

The men, described as Latino residents of Los Angeles, ages 33 and 31, were found in a blue Dodge van at a turnout spot on Vista del Valle in the Bee Rock area, about a mile east of Mt. Hollywood Drive, Police Lt. Fred Nixon said. Their names were withheld pending notification of relatives.

Roadside trash such as beer cans and takeout food containers indicated that the site is a popular parking spot. A coroner’s spokesman said late Wednesday that autopsies had not yet been conducted. Police Lt. John Zorn said it appeared the men had been murdered.