The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is trying to identify a human body found near Santa Maria on July 12.
According to a press release issued by the Sheriff’s Office, bicyclists were riding along Tepusquet Canyon Road, about 15 miles east of Santa Maria, around 7:40 a.m. when they discovered what appeared to be human remains and phoned the Sheriff’s Office from a nearby ranch.
When the officers got there, they confirmed that the remains were human.
The body looked like it had been there for some time, according to the Sheriff’s Office, which wasn’t able to provide an identity or a description of the body due to the “presence of decomposition and mummification.”
Forensics personnel showed up and began investigating the scene a short time later, but weren’t able to determine whether a crime had been committed.
The remains were turned over to the coroner for further investigation into time and cause of death.
Lt. Craig Bonner from the Sheriff’s Office Special Project and Coroner’s Bureau told the Sun that no further information could be released at this time. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office at 681-4100.
This article appears in Jul 16-23, 2015.
