Deputies investigate homicide in Tijeras
Remains found near cafe currently unidentified
Deputies are investigating a homicide after human remains were found near a cafe in Tijeras on Thursday afternoon, according to a Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman.
Bert Lee, who lives nearby, told the Journal he watched deputies pull something “in a bag or box” out of a forested area south of the Root Farm Cafe, near N.M. 337.
Lee said he was working in his yard when a BCSO detective pulled up to his driveway and told him human remains had been found across the nearby arroyo.
BCSO spokeswoman Felicia Maggard confirmed there was a homicide investigation but not much else.
“The condition or manner the person was found in, is not available for release,” she said.
Maggard said deputies were called to the 11000 block of N.M. 337 around 1:30 p.m. where they found a “deceased person.”
She said there are no suspects and would not give any other details, including who found the person, how the person died or the gender.
“The person has not been identified,” Maggard said.
By 4 p.m., no deputies or evidence of a crime scene remained, aside from a torn sliver of crime scene tape tied to a utility pole.
Owner of the Root Farm Cafe, Daniel Puccini, said several deputies scoured the area for a few hours before leaving.
Puccini said he hadn’t heard or seen anything recently and no deputies came to speak with him.
Lee said he also hadn’t seen or heard anything suspicious.
He said he has lived in the area for several years and often walks in the surrounding woods.
“I did smell an odor, the last few weeks,” he said.