Hiker Finds Body of Shooting Victim

A woman hiking through rocky terrain near Browns Canyon Road on Tuesday discovered the body of a man who apparently had been shot in the chest, authorities said.

Investigators suspect the man was killed at the scene no more than 24 hours before his body was discovered by the hiker at 8:45 a.m., said Det. Marshall White of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Devonshire Division.

“Our preliminary investigation indicates that the crime occurred there as opposed to a body dump,” he said. No weapon was recovered.

The man, believed to be between 25 and 30 years old, was lying face down and was not wearing hiking clothes, White said. The man’s identity was not immediately known.

The grim discovery was similar to an incident on Friday when a woman walking her dog discovered the body of a 27-year-old man in a remote cul-de-sac off the 1800 block of North Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Topanga Canyon. The body was identified Tuesday as that of Christopher Jason Dunbar of Columbus, Ohio, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said.