2 Bodies Found in Northeast Valley

Police on Tuesday were investigating the deaths of two men whose bodies were found in the northeast San Fernando Valley--one in the trunk of a car parked in Pacoima and another in Tujunga Wash in Sunland.

Authorities had not identified either man. Police said the Pacoima death is being investigated as a possible homicide, but could not say whether homicide was suspected in the Sunland case.

The man found in Pacoima appeared to be Latino and between 20 and 30 years old, said Lt. Rick Papke of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Foothill Division. The body was found about 4:45 p.m. in a Ford Contour parked in the 14200 block of Chamberlain Street, near the junction of the Ronald Reagan and Golden State freeways.

A passerby noticed the trunk lid partly open, saw the body and called 911, Papke said.

The cause of the man’s death is not yet known. There were no obvious signs of trauma, Papke said.

The car had been parked in the neighborhood for several days, said Officer Jason Lee, a spokesman for the LAPD.

The body found in Sunland appeared to be that of a transient, Lee said. The body was found about 5:45 p.m. by a passerby near Oro Vista Avenue and the wash.

Foothill investigators are asking anyone with any information about a missing person fitting the description of the Pacoima man to call (818) 834-3115 during business hours or (818) 756-8861 after 5 p.m.