Human Remains Found On Ridge Route

  • Skull discovered near the Ridge Route by Frazier Park man while flying a kite, Sunday July 8.

    Skull discovered near the Ridge Route by Frazier Park man while flying a kite, Sunday July 8.

Reported by Gary Meyer with Julie Hartman

Imagine going out on a Sunday afternoon to fly a kite. You pick a broad hillside, uncluttered by power lines or fences, a place on the old Ridge Route very near Templin Highway. The winds are good, the kite sails high, then breaks loose and you chase after to retrieve it.

Suddenly you find yourself about 200 feet down a mountain. There is a wrecked truck there, apparently on top of another that is partially buried. Something catches your eye. It is a human skull.

This happened to a Frazier Park man Sunday, July 8. John (he asks that his last name not be used) called the Los Angeles County Sheriff and took them to the site.

According to Lt. Fred Corral of the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office, an investigative team including Beth Miller, a forensic anthropologist, and Detective Linda Muse from L.A. County Sheriff’s Homicide Division returned to the area on Tuesday, July 10 at about 4:00 p.m.

Corral confirms that a human skull and a rib were found on the ground.

"Our anthropologist and forensic doctors are working to determine certain facts, such as whether there may have been injuries. They are collecting evidence for possible dental matching. We’ll need to gather data that we can use to try to match with Missing Persons records; sex, race, age, stature. Then we’ll start checking with cities and counties. We have an Identification/ Notification Section of the Coroner’s Office. We can sometimes match photos in the Missing Persons files with the skull. If missing persons’ records of interest have dental records, we can compare those with the remains," Corral said, declining to comment further until the investigating team has made its report.

Although not part of an official comment, it is speculated that the skull is that of a woman and that it has been there for two to five years. A check of news archives shows there may be over a dozen women reported missing in Los Angeles County in the past several years. Speculation, investigators said, could range anywhere from someone driving around a traffic jam in a rainstorm and going over the cliff, to something more macabre, like murder. No statement can be made at this time regarding any specific missing person case, Corral said.

Deputy Mark Lillienfield (323) 890-5589 seeks information from the public. Forensic findings will be reported as they are available.

This is part of the July 13, 2007 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

Have an opinion on this matter? We'd like to hear from you.