MCSO: Human remains found west of Ukiah

The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office is requesting help from the public in its investigation into a possible homicide after human remains were found earlier this month on a remote property west of Ukiah.

According to the MCSO, deputies responded to the 11000 block of Low Gap Road around 4 p.m. on Nov. 4 when someone reported finding “what he believed might be human remains on a remote property” located about 10 miles west of Ukiah High School, near the intersection with Masonite Road.

When deputies arrived they reportedly found “additional items of personal property, clothing and bones consistent with those of possible human remains,” and suspected that animals may have disturbed the scene. When a larger search of the area was initiated, “the remains were located

in an advanced state of decomposition.”

MCSO detectives were summoned and the remains were collected. An initial autopsy was also performed that reportedly identified the remains as human. However, “due to the advance stages of decay, identification of the decedent was not immediately possible and is pending DNA comparison and analysis,” the MCSO reports.

The case is being investigated as a possible suspicious death/ homicide, and the MCSO is asking

“anyone who was in the area of the 10000 block to the 15000 block of Low Gap Road from Sept. 15 through Nov. 4, who may have observed any suspicious activity or person(s) in that area, to contact the MCSO Investigations Bureau at 707- 463- 4421, or the MCSO Tip-line at 707-234-2100.