CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / MALIBU

The Los Angeles County coroner has identified the skeleton of a man found in a car at the bottom of a deep canyon in Malibu as a Thousand Oaks resident who had been missing for more than two years.

Using dental X-rays, investigators were able to identify the remains of Jeffrey Howard of Thousand Oaks, said Jerry McKibben, a coroner’s investigator. Howard vanished in December 2006 at age 40 after complaining of a headache and disorientation.

His body was found in a Hyundai sedan at the bottom of a steep, isolated canyon off Kanan Dume Road. The coroner’s office is awaiting results of additional tests to determine the cause of death.

-- Kenneth R. Weiss