Human Skull Found Near the Mendocino/ Humboldt County Line Not Far From the 2012 Discovery of a Skeleton in Sneakers
On October 8, 2020, a forester conducting timber harvest inspections in a creek bed southeast of the convergence of Highway 101 and 271 near the Mendocino and Humboldt County line made a grim discovery–a human skull.
Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Captain Greg Van Patten confirmed his agency was alerted to the situation at 2:29 p.m. that Thursday when the skull was recovered by detectives. Captain Van Patten specified that as of now “no other remains were located” and the “case is under investigation at this time.”
Captain Van Patten explained that MCSO’s Search and Rescue team has been delayed in search of the area where the skull was found due to “two major missing person’s searches on the coast from last weekend.” The two missing person cases Captain Van Patten is referring to are those of Sharon “Chris” Bear and Patricia Ahern who both returned home safely. Captain Van Patten said Search and Rescue will be engaged in a “large scale…search next week at some point” to comb the area where the skull was located.
The discovery of this human skull is within five-mile proximity of an unidentified human skeleton discovered on October 29, 2012. Known locally as the “Skeleton in Sneakers” case, a kayaker on the Eel River with his young daughter had for years noticed a sneaker sticking out of the riverbank. Then, a few days before Halloween, giving into dark curiosity, the kayaker dug around what was now the exposed tips of two sneakers and found a sock full of bones.
According to conversations with Captain Van Patten, MCSO was able to recover DNA from the “Skeleton in Sneakers,” but the DNA did not match any known missing persons. Captain Van Patten surmised the body could be someone from out of the area or “this could be a person that never was reported missing.”
The “Skeleton in Sneakers” case has entered Mendocino County’s cold case lore and the remains are unidentified to this day. Anyone with information about either of these cases is urged to call the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Tip-line at (707) 234-2100.
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Welcome to the Emerald Triangle.
Agree, welcome. With the supposedly groovy marijuana industry in full swing for decades now, and the accompanying large amount of murders, trafficking, and unsolved missing persons, or bodies found in our once great community, it is no wonder we find ourselves in this situation.
But no, listen to what the majority of those in the community say….grow marijuana, it is a medicine, it is good for you and there is no crime associated with it. Oh and yeah this one….it is not a gateway drug!
Bull shit to all of what we have been told in the past, we now know what this has brought to our community.
Environmental degradation at the grows that are similar if not more detrimental than logging once was, death, murder, unsolved missing persons, human trafficking, endangered species decline from illegal use of rodenticides, on and on. The list is huge and still we turn a blind eye to what is happening in our hills, watersheds, and community.
It is so sad to see and so disappointing to know that it is continuing to this day, after decades of proof that it is not good for our community and environment!
Bill you wrote 5 paragraphs.
I read 5 paragraphs which are tripe, lies and stupid. In other words completely wrong.
You know that of course but, dropped your stink-bomb just because it felt good. Why smell-up the site? Maybe post something that you know and leave the hate out side.
Stop and think, the entire world is filled with pissed-off people who will drop anything on a quality site. You should stop.
Rod, please point out my lies or stupid comments. What makes a comment stupid?
I’m not fooled by your attempt at deflecting, but interested in what lies I posted?
Thanks.
“Bull shit to all of what we have been told in the past, we now know what this has brought to our community.”
This statement right here, Can be used to describe what most communities struggle with.
Higher cost of living.
Our “once great” community was built on the bones of murdered & enslaved indigenous. Nothing new to see here.
If you read the article on fishing in Humboldt County there is a paragraph on not allowing the Chinese to come into Humboldt County. Ah, the other side of Paradise.
Hey Bill a revolution is coming maybe not in our lifetime but rest assured that the great American life is fading fast…LOCK & LOAD
And still websites like this promote illegal and “legal” dope growing without mercy, assist in the destruction of American life and culture, and prop up dying hippie liberalism. Sick.
Thank you for supporting this website by reading and commenting.
Best reply to trolls ever kym 😂
🕯🌳And your here.
Hello again Kim Kemp,
Just letting you know before I let the cops here know, that I’ll be a legal PI by Jan. 2021. To which my name of business will be The American #1 Psychic PI. I had a flash of your article yesterday or the day before while I was watering my trees. Go figure! And that flash happened within 48 hours. Meaning you then wrote about it being found ether right as I flashed it or soon after I flashed it. Anyhow just clicking in.
Law,
I was willing to ignore your rant as tom-foolery until you overextended.
//assist in the destruction of American life and culture, and prop up dying hippie liberalism. Sick.//
I’m long time conservative, 71, and still have a couple nice plants about to be harvested. That’s my conservative medicine.
Your hate towards me and the other several thousand hippies on this site is disgusting and need not be published, it’s dumb. You’re lucky, Kym Kemp bends too far in the cause of constructive conversation. On a neutral, middle of the road site, your language and it’s stupidity wouldn’t get posted.
Rod I totally concur with you. People have no clue when they spew hate and they’re closed minded poison! Yet there is nothing new under the sun.
Damn, it has been a long time since I was called a hippie. I am still proud of it. And I thought American life was destroyed by stupidity and covidiots.
Couple of thoughts about the “Skeleton in the Sneakers”.
I wish that there was a facial reconstruction for him. Some long time cold cases have been solved that way. Or genetic genealogy. He seems to have become just a curiosity.
And, the location of his body always intrigued me. Across the river from the road. Is there some back road to that site? And if not how did he wind up there of all places?
Hopefully the new found skull will bring some peace to some family.
Probably one of the few places that was easy digging.
Could be, but the location isn’t “easy”. That’s what gets me. Someone had to get the body (or the person) across the river. That’s a lot of work. Especially if he was as big a guy as is thought.
I was also wondering about the DNA. Isn’t it possible that he had some relatives? I’m not sure how that works.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEDmatch
I have never used it, but have read about it a lot recently.
Not only to catch criminals, but a few long cold unidentified victims have been identified using GEDmatch and maybe others.
Unless he was already across the River.
I’m pretty sure the skeleton in sneakers was found on the River bar by green bridge in piercy, there’s a trail to walk down to the beach from the main road but I think the body was probably washed up there when the river got high that winter, the reason it was buried in the sand I’m assuming, was high water pushing sand around.
… OR, and this may sound like a crazy and far fetched idea, maybe someone buried them there.
The MCSO was very clear that this was a burial not a washed up body. There was a large heavy stone at the head of the grave.
The skeleton was found in a shallow grave piled with rocks. It was across the river with no access.
The fact that someone “marked” the grave says it’s probable that the person or people who buried them knew them, maybe even felt a way about their death like it was accidental or unfortunate that this person died by someone else’s hand. When someone buries a random body or someone they don’t care about, it’s usually done so that nobody will find it. They don’t waste time and mark the grave so it can be found again. They hide it somewhere. Not in a shallow grave with rocks marking it.
That would be a great idea. From what I understand now instead of the clay on the skull it can be computerized.
But what about the odd placement of the big rock right over where his head was?
🕯🌳There’s been a few specials on TV about people that work for various groups that bring their body’s here to bury them so they won’t be found so easily.
Being a former long time resident of Humbolt county, it saddens me to read the articles on human remains spread here and there. Being in the logging industry, and proud of it, and seeing its demise, being replaced with a weed that is maybe, possibly , beneficial to a few seems like an exercise in futility, done simply for the buck.
The price of a human is simply to great.
But I rant
The ^price^ of a human’s footprint might be too great.
You’d be surprised to think what has been done, simply for the ^buck^.
Kim is there any information on the sneakerd remains? Like possible age, height etc? Any idea how long the body had been there?
https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2013/mar/12/skeleton-sneakers-belonged-tall-white-man/
Kym had a lot of information as well (I got that link from here).
5’11” to 6’5″, 25 to 45. The family who found him said they had seen the tip of one sneaker for years, but seeing the second shoe tip is what caught their attention.
I think of you when something like this comes up. Always the best to you and I hope you are able to find Bobby.
That’s a piece I wrote for Lost Coast when I worked there, Angela.
Yes….I should have been clearer when i said “Kym”…I meant on RHBB.
I picked that one because it seemed to go quickly to the heart of Searchingforbobby’s questions.
Here’s quite a bit of info including the distinctive shirt he wore. https://kymkemp.com/2013/10/29/one-year-after-skeleton-found/
He could have been lead down the river while deceased which would have been easier than carrying him to where he was buried. Just an idea.
Were the bodies of the family that plunged into the raging River there just north of the peg house ever recovered?
Yes. https://kymkemp.com/2018/04/16/thottapilly-family-together-12-year-old-siddhants-body-found-today/