Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Skeleton of Missing Rancher Found
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LANCASTER — A decapitated skeleton found in the desert this week has been positively identified as the remains of Lawrence Kuhn, an 83-year-old rancher who disappeared in 1993, authorities said.
Ed and Melody Simpson of Woodlake in Northern California found the sitting skeleton while hiking through the desert near Lancaster on Wednesday afternoon. Authorities immediately suspected that the remains, which were clothed and propped up against a bush, were Kuhn’s.
About a year and a half before his disappearance, Kuhn, of Three Points, hired James Keck, 72, and his wife, Linda Keck, 47, to help care for his property, the 4-K Ranch.
When Kuhn was reported missing in September, 1993, the couple told police that the older man was planning to take a bus tour to Laughlin, Nev., but never made it to the park-and-ride where he was to be picked up, said Benita Hinojos of the sheriff’s headquarters bureau.
The two were later arrested on suspicion of Kuhn’s murder, but released when authorities could not find a body, Hinojos said.
Hinojos said the coroner’s office has not yet determined the cause of death and no arrests have been made.
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