Second Suspicious Death in Three Weeks in Frazier Park

By Patric Hedlund, Gary Meyer and Pam Sturdevant

UPDATE, FRAZIER PARK, CA (Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009, 3:30 p.m.)—The Kern County Sheriff Coroner’s Office, after performing an autopsy today, has stated there is no trauma of any kind found on the body of Scotty Shropshire.

UPDATE, FRAZIER PARK, CA (Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009, 8:30 a.m.)—Kern County Sheriff’s detectives have reversed their earlier assessment of the scene where Carl "Scotty" Shropshire’s body was discovered. On Sunday they had said it appeared there were signs of a struggle. They now believe there was no struggle. See the complete story in The Mountain Enterprise, distributed early this week on Wednesday.

UPDATE, FRAZIER PARK, CA (Monday, Nov. 23, 2009, 11:45 a.m.)—A body found in a Frazier Park home on Laurel Avenue Sunday has been identified as Carl "Scotty" Shropshire, 49 of Frazier Park. An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday, according to Kern County Sheriff’s Supervising Deputy Coroner John Van Rensselaer, who would not address the cause of death until autopsy results are available.

UPDATE, FRAZIER PARK (Sunday, Nov.22, 2009, 8:15 p.m.)—A body was found in a home at 3820 Laurel Avenue in Frazier Park Sunday afternoon about 4:30 p.m. amid indications of a struggle. Residents of the neighborhood said at 7:30 p.m. that no lights have been turned on in the home, but that sheriffs have spotlights surrounding the scene. The home is owned by Carl J. and Martha P. Shropshire, but neighbors said they are away from home, camping with family. Neighbors said that Scotty Shropshire, their son, often stays at the home when they are away. The identity of the deceased individual found inside has not been released at this time. As we make this update posting, investigators have obtained a search warrant and have entered the home.

FRAZIER PARK (Sunday, Nov.22, 2009, 7:15 p.m.)—About ten Kern County Sheriff’s cars were clustered around yellow crime scene tape on Laurel Avenue near North End Drive in Frazier Park this evening after a body was found in a home in the 3800 block.

Kern County Sheriff’s Sgt. Walt Reed said that Frazier Park substation Senior Deputy James Newell had been in contact with a resident at the home about a case in Frazier Park. Reed would not name the case that the deputy was investigating and would not name the person he had gone to the home to see. He said that homicide investigators were called in immediately because there were signs of a struggle in the home, making it a suspicious death. Sgt. Reed said investigators had not entered the residence by 7:10 p.m. because a search warrant had not yet been obtained.

Reed said a family member was asked to join Sr. Deputy Newell at the home on Laurel Avenue at 4:30 p.m. "because [the man] hadn’t been seen in about three days." When the family member called and received no reply, he opened the door. "He saw a leg, but the odor was so bad, he fell back…The house was thrashed," a source said.

There is an indication that the man the family member and the deputy were checking on was Scotty Shropshire. This is not verified at this time. It is of interest however, as Scotty Shropshire was once the live-in boyfriend of Alyce Coleman. Jukka Hellsten, whose body was found in Cuddy Creek near Monterey Trail bridge on November 3, had been living with Alyce Coleman before his disappearance on the night of October 23.

This is part of the November 20, 2009 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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