The Death of San Mateo County John Doe, August 1980
On Sunday, August 3, 1980, a hiker named John Bryant Collins found human remains in unincorporated San Mateo County, CA. Collins found a skull off of Little Butano Creek Trail, which is a 1.5-mile (one way) trail in Butano State Park. Collins turned the skull over to State Park Ranger Thomas Lindsey, who notified the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office. Investigators from the sheriff's and coroner's offices responded to the scene and recovered the remains, and conducted multiple searches over the following weeks for further bones or evidence. Twenty to twenty-five additional bones were found by LE after Collins's initial discovery, including teeth, several vertebrae, and "what appear to be arm bones." The remains were not recognizable as a result of consisting of partial skeletal parts only. The unidentified person's torso, as well as one or more limbs and one or both hands, were not recovered. Also listed among the inventory of remains on NamUs is "he...