Body Found Near Highway 80
A San Diego man was found dead in the brush along Old Highway 80 in the Campo area Sunday morning, about 45 miles from where he was last seen alive the night before, San Diego County sheriff’s deputies said.
Derek Anthony Denson, a 19-year-old locksmith from Ocean Beach, was found by a California Department of Fish and Game warden who was driving along the highway when he saw dried blood on the south side of the road at 9:55 a.m. Sunday, deputies said.
He pulled over to investigate, thinking that an animal had been struck by a car, but then saw a man’s jacket on the shoulder of the road and what appeared to be drag marks leading into the brush, deputies said. He then saw Denson’s body about 30 feet from the pavement.
Denson was last seen at 7 p.m. Saturday by his girlfriend in her Loma Portal home, deputies said.
Denson’s car is missing and considered stolen. Deputies described the car as a medium-blue Ford Mustang with a dark blue top, a black bra and aluminum wheels. The car has paper license plates from Kearny Mesa Ford.
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