Autopsy Scheduled for Human Remains
Human remains discovered Friday by a surveyor working on Grimes Canyon Road were removed from a hillside Saturday afternoon and taken to the Ventura County medical examiner’s office for further study.
A skull, torso and other major bones were found so coroner’s officials anticipate a quick identification. They did not know Saturday whether the remains were male or female or how the person died.
An autopsy is scheduled for today. Once the gender is determined, coroner’s investigators will review missing persons reports, they said.
The remains do not appear to be those of Erich George von Gaertner Jr., 53, of Simi Valley who disappeared Sept. 22.
Although authorities recently found his abandoned truck over a cliff on Grimes Canyon Road, von Gaertner has a prosthetic leg and coroner’s officials believe they found two legs on Saturday.
The remains were found halfway between Fillmore and Moorpark. Authorities had to rappel 75 feet down a hill to reach the remains, which were partially covered with dirt. Authorities also recovered portions of a pair of pants and a T-shirt, they said.
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