Skull leads to body found 10/1/08, Santa Cruz, CA

[packy]

http://www.ksbw.com/cnn-news/17608399/detail.html

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. -- Santa Cruz sheriff's deputies found a decomposed body in the woods near Glenwood Drive Wednesday after a hiker found a human skull on a walking trail.

Investigators said the hiker found the skull on Tuesday, but searchers were unable to find the body until the following day.

Forensic specialists said they believe the victim likely died several months ago, but that they are unclear about the cause of death.

The victim was described as a man in his late teens or earlier twenties with dark hair and no identification was found nearby.

[Nut44x4]

I posted yesterday in Carl Knight's thread....something tells me this could be him.
http://helpfindthemissing.org/forum/showthread.php?t=4094&page=2

[packy]

It might be, Nut. I hope they find out soon.

I searched the terms scotts and Glenwood and your post didn't come up. Hmmm.

[Nut44x4]

Packy, I have not complained...but I too have trouble with results in searches here. Things I KNOW are here and do not show in a simple search of the whole site or a particular forum. It happenes quite often.

[Nut44x4]

More on the remains found....

Body found in woods still not ID'd
10/09/2008

Sheriff's detectives are still trying to identify the man found dead off a trail north of Scotts Valley last week.
Investigators continue to cull through hundreds of missing person reports from Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties in search of the homicide victim's identity, according to Lt. Phil Wowak of the Sheriff's Office.

"Each and every one of them that we've followed up on we've ruled out," Wowak said. "We have many more to go through."

A hiker found the man's head on a trail between Bean Creek Road and Glenwood Drive on Sept. 30. His body was found nearby and investigators said the man was killed there, but haven't disclosed the cause of death.

The man was 14 to 22 years old, of either white or Hispanic descent and had been dead for two months to a year, according to the Sheriff's Office. He was wearing an intricate joker shirt and diamond-and-gold ring. The gold band has a solitaire diamond in the middle with four, smaller diamonds on either side set in pairs, one diamond stacked on top of the other. The smaller diamonds are bordered by copper strips.
Sheriff's detectives asked that anyone with possible information about the dead man contact the investigations unit during business hours at 454-2311, the nonemergency dispatch number after-hours at 471-1121 or the anonymous tip line at 454-2847.
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_10680129

[Nut44x4]

actual shirt described in above post.......
I find no photos of the ring.

[packy]

That seems like a very distinct ring that someone would recognize if only they would see the reports.

Thanks for the updates, Nut.

[Nut44x4]

I KNOW!! The Shirt too!!!
FOUND RING and better shirt photo

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_10630603

[Nut44x4]

Deputies confirm remains found are those of homicide victim

Article Launched: 10/04/2008 01:30:28 AM PDT

SCOTTS VALLEY -- An intricate joker shirt and diamond ring may lead to the identification of the decomposed remains of a young man found Tuesday on a trail in the hills outside Scotts Valley, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Detectives confirmed their suspicion Friday, saying an autopsy concluded the man was a victim of homicide, though they declined to release the cause of death. Sgt. Mario Sulay said they believe the victim had been dead for two months to a year.

"We found the victim to be much younger than we had expected," Lt. Phil Wowak said. "He is estimated to be 14 to 22 years old and of either white or Hispanic descent and was wearing a shirt and ring that are fairly distinct." Sulay said the victim was 5 feet, 3 inches tall with a slim build.

The blue shirt features an all white joker with sunglasses holding a scepter and pointing. The shirt reads "Magic the Joker's Wild."

The gold band has a solitaire diamond in the middle with four, smaller diamonds on either side set in pairs, one diamond stacked on top of the other. The smaller diamonds are bordered by copper strips.

Detectives have scoured hundreds of missing persons reports from Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties since the discovery of the human head by a hiker.

On Friday, detectives said they had one more person to review in the missing persons reports from Santa Cruz County and have begun searching Santa Clara County.

"Once we have the victim's dental charts, he will be entered in the state missing identified persons database," Sulay said.

The man's body was found Wednesday hundreds of feet from the head in a remote, heavily wooded area by a Santa Clara County dog trained to find human remains. The well-traveled trail where the man's head was found is near Redwood Glen Camp and Conference Center on Bean Creek Road, north of Scotts Valley.

Wowak said it's unlikely the man was decapitated. His head had separated from his body, but that was probably the result of decomposition and animal involvement. The rest of the man's body was intact, but badly decomposed, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Crime scene investigators found evidence that "would only be known to the killer" at the scene that led deputies to believe it was a homicide.

Wowak declined to say what that evidence was. There were no other belongings -- including ID -- found with the man, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Sulay said they have no solid leads to who committed the homicide or who the victim is.

Sheriff's detectives asked that anyone with possible information about the dead man contact the investigations unit during business hours at 454-2311, the nonemergency dispatch number after-hours at 471-1121 or the anonymous tip line at 454-2847.

http://www.mercurynews.com/centralcoast/ci_10637159

[Nut44x4]

HAT TIP/FAITH

Detectives looking for a break in cases of two unidentified homicide victims
By Jennifer Squires - Sentinel staff writer
Posted: 12/04/2008 01:11:31 PM PST

Sheriff's detectives are wishing for more than just good tidings this holiday season. They hope the families of two unidentified homicide victims found in the Santa Cruz Mountains this year will notice their loved ones missing and report their disappearances to authorities.
Hikers found a woman's skull off Highway 9 in the lower area of Castle Rock State Park in April. In September, a hiker found the remains of a man on a trail near Glenwood Drive north of Scotts Valley.

Neither person has been identified.

"To me, it's unfortunate that no one's come forward," said Lt. Phil Wowak, head of investigations at the Sheriff's Office. "However it doesn't surprise me given that we have such have transitory population. That person could be from another state or another country."

People tend to notice family and friends missing more often during the holidays than the rest of the year, so detectives are crossing their fingers that new information may come to light in both cases. The deaths are among about 50 unsolved homicides in the Sheriff's Office jurisdiction since 1970.

Contact Jennifer Squires at 429-2449 or jsquires@santacruzsentinel.com





http://www.mercurynews.com/centralcoast/ci_11138223?nclick_check=1

[Nut44x4]

I KNOW!! The Shirt too!!!
FOUND RING and better shirt photo

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_10630603


PHOTO of Flip Flop here, but for some reason I can't get it here.

http://www.mercurynews.com/centralcoast/ci_11138223?nclick_check=1