The Murder & Decapitations of the Mount Baldy, Claremont, & Upland John Does, Spring 1979

From March to May 1979, three sets of remains belonging to young white men were discovered in a five mile radius of each other in San Bernardino and Los Angeles Counties. All three were reported on together at the time. Some sources — including NCMEC and the Doe Network — incorrectly indicate that the two sets of remains found in LA County belonged to the same individual, and other users online have repeated this error. For these reasons I am writing about all three sets of remains in one post.

Mount Baldy John Doe March 1979, AKA John Doe #1

On Wednesday, March 28, 1979, two hikers discovered the headless torso of a young male in the Mount Baldy area of LA County. The body was found, "near mile marker 10.74 along Glendora Ridge Road, approximately 425 feet down the ravine" in the Angeles National Forest. Directly south of, and running parallel to, this part of Glendora Ridge Rd is Fire Road 2N07, also known as the Sunset Peak Trail. At the summit of the trail had a fire lookout, which closed in 1974. It is unclear if the ravine on which the body was found is north or south of Glendora Ridge Rd, as the ravine below the road, on the north side, is not visible from the road and is not near any hiking trails from which it could be visible either; meanwhile, on the other side of the road is an incline up to the fire trail.

The body was not recognizable, as it consisted of partial remains with soft tissues. The head was never recovered. The torso was decomposed, and the victim is believed to have died about one week prior to discovery, i.e., approx. Wednesday, March 21, 1979.

There were no wounds on the body, and cause of death could not be established. Despite this, it is believed that he was the victim of a homicide.

John Doe was a white male who is believed to have been about 17 to 21 years old when he died, though some contemporary sources state he was about 16 to 22. His age group on NamUs is "Late Teen/Young Adult." John Doe is estimated to have been 5'7 to 5'10. His hair and eye color could not be determined, as his head was not found.

John Doe had a vaccination scar on his upper left arm. He had a light to medium complexion. The body was described as "well developed and slightly slender." No clothing has been reported to have been found on or near the decedent.

It was determined that John Doe had been decapitated, though sources differ slightly regarding the manner. Most newspapers stated that saw marks were found, indicating that John Doe's missing head had definitely been sawed off. It seems to have been implied that John Doe was decapitated postmortem. Meanwhile, one contemporary news article stated that, "It was at first determined that [John Doe]'s head had been cut or 'hacked' off, however a second opinion has been requested from LA authorities to determine if it could have been sawed off."

John Doe's fingerprints are available for comparison. According to the Doe Network, his DNA may also be available, though it is possible that that is instead true for the skull that was found later (see below), as the two were combined into one Doe Network page based on the mistaken belief that they were one victim, which is incorrect.

John Doe has two rule-outs on NamUs: he is not Ronald Kruska or Rickey Enochs. The NamUs case, #UP4410, was created September 9, 2008 and last updated June 13, 2022. The NCMEC case number is 1184192.

Anyone with information in John Doe's case is urged to contact Investigator Betsy Magdaleno of the LA County Medical Examiner's Office at (323) 343-0512 or IDUnit@me.lacounty.gov. The agency case number is 1979-04031.

Claremont John Doe May 1979, AKA John Doe #2

In mid- to late May 1979, a road maintenance worker discovered a skull in/near Claremont, LA County, CA, in the Mount Baldy area. According to well-known internet sleuth Carl Koppelman, the skull was found on mile marker 1-18 on Mt. Baldy Road.

Sources differ regarding the date of discovery: the earliest date, provided by one contemporary newspaper article, is Saturday, May 19th. Two other newspapers from the time state that the skull was found on Sunday, May 20th, while NamUs and other modern sources list the date of discovery as Tuesday, May 22nd.

A bullet hole was found in the skull. The decedent is believed to be the victim of a homicide. According to one newspaper, the skull "had what appeared to be saw marks about the neck area." Most other newspapers indicate that the skull was in fact sawed off, though one stated that, "the head appeared to be battered off" of the missing body.

Only the skull, as well as possibly some vertebra from the neck, were recovered. Some hair was found either near or still attached to the remains. John Doe is believed to have died the same year he was found, 1979, possibly within the previous two months, i.e., March to May 1979.

NamUs indicates the decedent's sex as "Uncertain," while contemporary sources from the time — as well as the reconstruction created by NCMEC — specify that the skull is that of a male; for this reason I will continue refer to the victim as John Doe.

John Doe was a young white male; his age group on NamUs is "Adult - Pre 30." While contemporary newspapers reported John Doe's estimated age range as 16 to 22 years old, on NamUs it is listed as 19 to 26 years old.

Due to the condition of the remains, John Doe's height, weight, and eye color are unknown. He had blond or strawberry colored hair that was four to six inches in length. He had a slight overbite, as well as a small gap between his two front teeth (upper central incisors). His teeth showed signs of maintenance, as he had at least eight silver dental fillings.

Reconstruction of John Doe #2 created by NCMEC.

John Doe's dental chart is available for comparison. His DNA may also be available. He has two exclusions on NamUs: he is not Ronald Kruska or Jeffrey Stinnett. John Doe's NamUs case, #UP79269, was created on April 2, 2021. It was last updated on November 28, 2022.

Upland John Doe May 1979, AKA John Doe #3

On the night of Wednesday, May 23, 1979 — though, according to one newspaper, possibly instead Tuesday, May 22nd — a man walking his dog in an area north of Upland, San Bernardino County, CA discovered the body of an unidentified male on a hillside near San Antonio Heights. According to one newspaper article, John Doe was found, near or "in a flood control channel east of Mt Baldy Rd."

The body, known as Upland John Doe 1979, was found about 5mi south of John Doe #1, and a few miles south of John Doe #2; all three were found within a five mile radius of each other.

Upland John Doe was unrecognizable at the time of discovery, as the partial remains with soft tissues were found decomposed and/or partially skeletonized. It has been estimated that John Doe died about two weeks before he was discovered, which would place his date of death at around Wednesday, May 9, 1979.

John Doe is believed to be the victim of a homicide, though cause of death is unknown/has not been reported. There were no wounds on the body. His head and one hand were not recovered. The victim had been decapitated and partially dismembered: the head and left arm had been removed from the body with a saw, as corresponding marks were found around the neck area.

John Doe was completely nude when discovered, though a hemp rope was around the torso. No clothing or further belongings were found in the area.

The victim was determined to be a young white male who was about 16 to 22 years old. His age group on NamUs is "Adult - Pre 30." Due to the condition of the remains, John Doe's eye color is unknown. While the color of his head hair is unknown, given that his head was not found, his body hair was blond or strawberry in color. He was estimated to have been about 160 lbs, and his height is variously described as being estimated at 5'8, 5'9, or 5'6 to 5'10.

John Doe has zero MP exclusions on NamUs. The fingerprints from his right hand are available for comparison, while his dentals are not. The availability of his DNA is unknown. His NamUs case, #UP2511, was created and last updated on August 25, 2008 and October 4, 2023, respectively.

Anyone with information in the case is urged to contact September Fonzi-Jones of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department- Coroner Division at (909) 387-2978. The agency case number 53428, and he is also referred to as John Doe #10-79.

The locations of all three sets of remains. Created by me using Google Maps, viewed on Google Earth.

Matches?

From the onset, newspapers have reported that the skull — referred to here as John Doe #2 — did not match either body, i.e., that all three sets of remains belong to different victims. Furthermore, articles differed regarding whether authorities believed any of the deaths were related to each other.

On June 6, 1979, however, The San Bernardino County Sun reported that the skull may actually match the body of John Doe #3, but that it cannot be verified until either set of remains were identified.

Many sources from the 21st century, such as NCMEC and the Doe Network, began to report that John Does #1 and 2 were the same person; however, the source of this information is unknown, as there are three separate NamUs cases for all three sets of remains.

This has caused confusion in online forums, such as on WebSleuths. On August 15, 2025, I emailed Investigator Betsy Magdaleno of the LA County Medical Examiner's Office to try to clarify the discrepancy. She replied with the following:

Personal communication with Investigator Betsy Magdaleno of LACME regarding John Does #1 and 2, respectively.

I then asked Inv. Magdaleno if her message meant that John Does #s 1 and 2 have been definitively ruled out through scientific processes such as DNA matching, or simply that they cannot conclusively match them to each other. Inv. Magdaleno replied, "I have provided all information that can be provided to the public."

Sources

Mt Baldy & Claremont John Does

Upland John Doe

NamUs

Unidentified wiki

All three

San Bernardino County Sun 5/25/79, 5/26/79, 5/30/79, 6/1/79, 6/6/79

The Fresno Bee 5/31/79

The Orange County Register 6/1/79

2022 Medium article

Search

California Cold Cases