Corpse Found, Murder Suspected

A farm worker Friday found the body of a man in a brushy area just off Trabuco Creek Road, and the Sheriff’s Department is investigating the death as a possible homicide.

Sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Richard J. Olson said the victim, who was found fully clothed but with no identification, was probably in his 20s.

Head injuries were obvious, he said. An autopsy is planned.

The body, which was discovered at 7:25 a.m., could have been there for one or two days, investigators estimated. An old-model car was parked alongside Trabuco Creek Road near the site, but investigators had not determined by Friday afternoon whether it belonged to the unnamed victim.

Trabuco Creek Road is unpaved and meanders northeast toward Cleveland National Forest from Trabuco Canyon Road. The body was found about a mile and a half up the dirt road, Olson said.