Cold Cases of the Golden Coast

On Wednesday, April 19, 1978, the decomposed body of an unidentified man was found floating in the Pacific Ocean "off the northern side and western end of the Santa Monica Pier" in Santa Monica, LA County, CA. The man has never been identified, and is currently known only as Santa Monica John Doe 1978. John Doe was a white adult man believed to be 25 to 40 years old at the time of his death; alternatively, the LA County Medical Examiner's Office (LACME) lists his approximate age as 30 years old. John Doe's height measured in at 5'7" (1.70m), and his weight was estimated to be 160 lbs. His eye color is unknown due to the condition of his remains. When his body was discovered he was wearing only black cut-off corduroy pants and a belt. John Doe had wavy brown hair, as well as a mustache and beard. On NamUs, his head hair is specifically described as "Wavy medium brown hair." The user-based Unidentified wiki interprets this description as meaning that...

On Monday, March 23, 1981, a homeowner was digging a post hole on his property at 5229 Palmer Canyon Rd in Claremont, LA County, CA when he discovered partial skeletal remains with some soft tissue remaining. According to NamUs, the remains consisted of a skull and mandible.   I could not find any newspaper articles mentioning the discovery, and overall there is very little information available in this case. Due to the condition of the remains, the decedent's race/ethnicity, eye color, hair color, height, and weight could not be determined. Their sex was also undetermined until sometime between 2017 and 2020, based on information from NamUs posted to WebSleuths. The skull and mandible are believed to have belonged to a man aged 18 to 34 years old. His year of death is estimated at 1971 to 1981. His cause of death, if determined, has not been released to the public. There were no clothing items or pieces of jewelry found with the decedent.  John Doe's NamUs case, #UP4346,...