Cold Cases of the Golden Coast

On Saturday, September 20, 1980, a dog discovered a human leg bone in the area of Littlerock, LA County, CA. Investigators were notified, and they soon found a shallow grave on or near Pearblossom Highway.  The Doe Network describes the location of the grave as "on Pearblossom Highway, ½ mile East of Avenue V" in Littlerock. This description, however, is confusing for a few reasons: a) there is no roadway specifically named just "Avenue V" in Littlerock, b) there  is  E Ave V (i.e., East Avenue V), as well as E Ave V-8, E Ave V-9, etc. up to E Ave V-14, and c) all of the E Ave V's run east-to-west, parallel to Pearblossom Highway, so there are no locations where the highway is east  of  any of the avenues. Because of this, I believe the intended meaning of "East of Avenue V" could instead be simply "E Ave V," however which one is intended — as well as its relation to the gravesite — is uncertain on my part. Regarding the shallow grave, the ar...

On October 13, 1982, maintenance workers were clearing a roadside drainage ditch at Mt Baldy Rd mile marker 5.34 in LA County when they discovered the skeletal remains of a human underneath some bushes. The exact location is very close to the border with San Bernardino County, and is  just  inside the Angeles National Forest. The sex of the decedent is undetermined. Because of this, I will be using the singular  they  to refer them. Furthermore, instead of the usual "John/Jane Doe," I have chosen to occasionally refer to them as  Jean Doe , as Jean is a unisex name, and I do not want to simply refer to them as "Doe" or "Unknown Doe," as I find that to be dehumanizing.  Google Street View of what I believe is the drainage ditch in which LA County Doe 1982 was found, via Google Earth. The body was unrecognizable due to consisting of partial remains with soft tissues. One or more limbs, as well as one or both hands, were not recovered. According to Nam...

At roughly 4:45pm on Sunday, October 8, 1978, a man from Boron, Kern County, CA was searching in the high desert two miles west of Kramer Junction, San Bernardino County, CA — located at the intersection of Highways 58 and 395 — for a part of his camper that he had lost earlier in the day when he discovered human remains half-buried in sand.  The man first notified Kern County authorities, who then reported the discovery to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department shortly before 5:00pm, as the corpse was found about 2.5 mi east of the Kern County line. The specific location was 0.75 mi south of State Highway 58, and about twenty miles from the incorporated community of Hinkley; because of this, the body, that of a male, became known as Hinkley John Doe 1978. The sheriff's department also designated him "John Doe #14-78." According to one newspaper source, "Detective Rod Conder from the Barstow [sheriff's] office was assigned, and with homicide investiga...

Early in the evening of Saturday, February 9, 1980, trappers were "setting lines in the brushy growth" along the banks of the Pajaro River when they discovered a human skeleton on the north bank. The body was found near the confluence of the Pajaro and San Benito Rivers, just west — and/or "2000 yards southwest"  — of the US Highway 101 crossing. The trappers called authorities to report the body. Detectives from San Benito County were the first on the scene, which was along the county line; they soon, however, turned the case over to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, as it was in their jurisdiction, about four miles south of Gilroy, Santa Clara County, CA. The remains were not recognizable, as they consisted of a complete or near-complete skeleton. They were determined to be that of a female. The body had been in the water and/or riverbed for at least a month, i.e., since at least early January 1980; an updated or more specific PMI is not available. Auth...

At about 4:45pm on Wednesday, September 19, 1979, the body of a teenager or  young man  was discovered in the Los Angeles Riverbed, north of the Patata St overpass/trestle in Bell, LA County, CA. He had been deceased for only some hours prior, and his face was recognizable; a postmortem photo is available through a link on the Doe Network. The cause and manner of death have not been released. Artist rendering from NCMEC. John Doe was 15 to 25 years old, 5'8, and 129 lbs. The estimated age group listed by NamUs is "Adult - Pre 30." He was white and had brown eyes and short, thin, light brown hair. A reconstruction of him created by NCMEC is available. When found, he was wearing blue slacks, a Hawaiian print shirt from K-Mart, a brown leather belt, underwear, and white socks with a red stripe at the top. John Doe's dentals, DNA, and fingerprints are all available for comparison. He has six MP exclusions on NamUs, as well as one repeat: John Doe is not Donald Rexroth (wh...

At about 3:30pm on Monday, December 28, 1970, a hiker named Helmeth Mehden of Yucca Valley discovered a nearly complete skeleton in a mining area 22.5 to 22.7 mi east of the desert city of Twentynine Palms in San Bernardino County, CA. The hiker reported the find to the local substation, and police recovered a skull, backbone, and leg bones of an unidentified person. The remains were sent to Wiefel's Mortuary. Authorities returned to the scene the following day once the sun had risen to make a more complete search of the area. The bones were found about 2.0 to 2.5 mi south of 29 Palms Highway/Highway 52, along Old Ironage Rd. This area is near Old Dale, a ghost town/former mining area. Officials determined that the skeleton had likely been dragged by animals to the spot where it was found from its original burial place about 30 ft away.  Location of Jane Doe's body off of Old Ironage Rd in relation to the original burial place about 30 ft away. Created by me using Google Maps...

On Saturday, September 17, 1977, two employees of the Pickwick Hotel in San Diego, San Diego County, CA noticed a peculiar smell after parking in the hotel's basement parking lot. They reported it to hotel officials, who stated that the foul odor was coming from a vent in the garage. After noticing the foul odor again the following day — Sunday, September 18, 1977 — the two employees — a bellman and his brother — decided to investigate it themselves. They pinpointed the smell as coming from the area of a van that was parked in a remote spot of the basement garage. Upon looking into the van shortly after noon, the two brothers discovered a decomposing body partially covered by bedding in the back of the vehicle. They promptly notified the night manager, who then reported the discovery to the police. [Note: the Sept. 19, 1977 edition of the  San Diego Union specifically states that Jane Doe was discovered by the brothers "shortly after noon" on the 18th. That same clipping ...

On Saturday, January 6, 1973, a hiker named Barbara McAninch discovered partial skeletal remains scattered over a 25-foot area in a gully at the top of Mt Tamalpais in Marin County, CA. It was in a wooded area near the outdoor Mountain Theater — aka the Cushing Memorial Amphitheater — within the Mt Tamalapais State Park. The remains were comprised of a nearly complete human skeleton, though the skull was missing. McAninch, a college student majoring in anatomy, took the bones home to San Francisco to study them. She decided to call authorities on about January 9th. On Wednesday, January 10, 1973, then-Deputy Coroner Bill Thomas told the press that he expected to receive the skeleton that day. At the time the remains were believed to be that of a male, and Thomas stated that the body could be of a victim of foul play; as he said, "Marin County often serves as a dumping ground for San Francisco's murder victims." A photo of Marin County coroner Dr Donovan Cooke examining th...

On Wednesday, July 30, 1975, a tractor driver was using a scraper to clear underbrush and weeds for a fence west of Gardner's Cove in Modesto, Stanislaus County, CA, when he noticed a bit of clothing among the debris he was clearing off. Upon closer inspection, he realized that there were human bones inside the clothing. Authorities were promptly notified, and investigation of the area continued up to at least August 1st to search for more remains. Newspapers reported that the bones "ha[d] been found scattered over an area about seven yards square. Some remains were moved by the tractor driver and his scraper Wednesday as he cleared a path for workmen to build a fence. Others were found when the detectives and inmates" — "a work crew of five men from the Stanislaus County Honor Farm" — "unearthed them with shovels. Others may have been carried off by animals or fallen in the river, and may never be found." Only partial skeletal remains, including ...