Homeless man found dead at Old Town bus stop

On Tuesday morning after a frigid evening, Eureka Police Department officers were called out to a Eureka bus stop on H Street and discovered a deceased man.

The officers determined the man did not meet the protocol for resuscitative efforts, said Cpt. Brian Stephens with the Eureka Police Department.

The Humboldt County Coroner’s Office did not respond to a request for comment about the autopsy and cause of death by the Times-Standard’s print deadline.

Foul play is not suspected at this time.

Stephens added that, “based on our experiences with the decedent, it appears he was (homeless),” meaning the man was one of a few unsheltered residents who died this winter. On Monday evening, temperatures hovered in the 30- to 40-degree range.

Jestine Green, a Eureka homeless woman, was discovered deceased in recycling taken to the Samoa Resource Recovery Center after she climbed into a recycling dumpster to use as a shield from the elements. An autopsy concluded that she died of mechanical-traumatic asphyxia because of pressure on her chest and abdomen.

Another local homeless woman, Nancy Barnes of Arcata, died overnight on Dec. 4, 2022, while sleeping in front of Arcata City Hall. The Humboldt County Coroner’s Office attributed her death to a cardiac arrest.

The Eureka Rescue Mission and Betty Kwan Chinn Foundation offer overnight shelters in Eureka, and the Arcata House Partnership operated an emergency shelter due to the cold weather that closed on Sunday.

On Tuesday evening, the city of Eureka held a workshop for permitting an authorized encampment or tiny home village for interested residents. This Saturday, the city will hold a town hall on mental health, substance use and homelessness at 2 p.m. on the second floor of Eureka City Hall.