WHEELER GORGE : CHP Officer Finds Skull in Ravine

A California Highway Patrol officer found a human skull at the bottom of a deep ravine next to California 33 near Ojai while he was investigating an abandoned car, authorities said Wednesday.

CHP Officer Paul Burrows discovered the bleached skull about 200 feet down an embankment near Wheeler Gorge as he searched the area around the car, CHP spokeswoman T. J. McAllister said. The skull was missing its teeth, making it impossible to identify through dental records, authorities said.

Ventura County sheriff’s detectives and officials with the county coroner’s office investigated the area but could find no evidence of a crime, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman said.

No other bones were found, and Sheriff’s Lt. Mike Gullon said it is possible that the skull might have been carried from miles away by an animal.

“Apparently the skull had been there for a long time,” Gullon said. “We don’t know a cause or time of death. We don’t know how old the person was, physical characteristics, anything. All we know is that it was possibly a female.”

Detectives are waiting for the skull to be identified before they continue their investigation. But coroner’s officials say the skull is missing all of its teeth, which will make identification difficult, if not impossible.

“The possibility of being able to identify this person is relatively nil,” Deputy Coroner Craig Stevens said.