[UPDATE 6:09 p.m.] Man Searching for Missing Schoolmate Who Was Featured on This Website Stumbled on Human Remains Yesterday

A Fort Bragg man who read Cold Case Mendocino’s article about the November 2018 disappearance of Lewis Compton searched the area where law enforcement had recovered his vehicle. On Saturday, March 7, down a steep embankment from where the missing man had parked the vehicle, the searcher, a former schoolmate of the missing man, located what he described as “a skull, shoulder bones, and human leg bones.”

Law enforcement is on-site today conducting a thorough search of the area.

Lewis Compton went missing November 13, 2018. He drove his Jeep Cherokee into a fence along Highway 1 and fled the scene when law enforcement attempted to arrest him. He sped north, a California Highway Patrolman pursued, and when Lewis lost sight of his pursuer, he abandoned his Jeep, escaped into the woods, and has not been seen or heard from since.

David Fernandez, a 43-year-old resident of Fort Bragg, regularly drives Highway 1 for work. After reading that Lewis’s Jeep Grand Cherokee was recovered near mile marker 85.74, Fernandez, chose to search the area on foot. Yesterday, he said he “walked along the road thinking about what Lewis would have done that day.”

Taking notice of a shoe downhill from where Lewis had parked the Jeep, Fernandez, proceeded down the slope and found a black sweatshirt with bones underneath it. Near the sweatshirt, Fernandez said he saw a “fallen redwood tree [with] what looked like a human shoulder bone on top.” Becoming aware of the significance of the discovery, Fernandez, returned to the sweater and saw an ankle bone. At this point, Fernandez said he noticed an “old, rusty car” that seemed to have crashed down the slope “a long time ago” and then said he “saw a human skull.” The jawbone was “separated from the skull with only one noticeable tooth,” he told us.

“Creeped out” and unsure of how to proceed, Fernandez attempted to contact the ranger station at Westport-Union Landing State Beach to no avail. Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office was then contacted and informed of the discovery.

By the time the sun was setting, Lewis’s former wife Helen Compton and the Westport Volunteer Fire Chief had arrived at the site of the discovery. Using flashlights, Fernandez directed the fire chief towards the skull who then descended the hill to verify. Upon returning, he confirmed the skull was human to Fernandez and, Lewis Compton’s wife, Helen.

As of 10 a.m. this morning, a multi-agency search and recovery operation was being organized and conducted. Representatives from Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, Mendocino County Search and Rescue, California Highway Patrol, California Fish and Game, and Westport Volunteer Fire were all on-site. A large swath of the hillside below the road had been sectioned off with crime-scene tape and what appeared to be a human skull could be seen from the roadside.

Cold Case Mendocino attempted to seek comments from law enforcement on the scene but was directed to contact the Mendocino County Sheriff Office’s public information officer. An email sent to Captain Greg Van Patten earlier today has not yet been answered as of the time of publication.

David Fernandez said he had wondered about Lewis Compton’s fate for the last six months. “I saw a social media post about him being missing and always wanted to know where exactly he was last seen so I could search the area,” he told us.

Upon reading Cold Case Mendocino’s article about Lewis Compton’s disappearance, Fernandez explained, “I finally had the exact location so I chose to take a look.” Fernandez remembered Lewis from high school and always admired him for his independence and kindness. Fernandez may have returned Compton’s kindness by helping return his body to his family.

UPDATE 6:09 p.m.: The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Facebook page reports,

On March 7, 2020, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office received a report of found human remains.

Deputies responded as did the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Detective Unit. The scene included dense vegetation and scattered remains. The search was halted until daylight hours on March 8, 2020.

MCSO was assisted in the search by the CSU, Chico Department of Anthropology Lab as well as the Mendocino County Search and Rescue Team.
The remains were found near mile marker 86 on Highway 1 north of Westport. At this time the remains are unidentified.

The Mendocino County Coroner’s office will be working as swiftly as possible to identify the remains.

 

 

UPDATE MONDAY: Identifying the Bones: Mendocino Sheriff’s Office Reports on the Next Step for the Human Remains Located Saturday off Hwy 1

 

Earlier Chapter: Cold Case Mendocino: Lewis Compton Fled Police, Abandoned His Vehicle, and Disappeared into the Lost Coast