UPDATE: Human Remains Found in Pacific Palisades
Skeletal remains were found near the entrance of Los Liones Canyon Trail
on Saturday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Post updated 4 p.m., Sept. 23.
LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating the unidentified skeletal remains of a human body found Saturday morning near the entrance of a local trail.
According to police, West LAPD officers responded to a radio call of a death investigation at 10:45 a.m. near the entrance of Los Liones Canyon Trail in Pacific Palisades in the 500 block of Los Liones Drive. Two people were hiking near the trail when they spotted what appeared to be a human skull. They then reported what they saw at a nearby L.A. city fire station. Personnel there in turn notified police.
Upon arrival, officers were directed to an area near a hiking trail not far from the entrance to the Los Liones Canyon Trail where they found the remains of what appeared to be a human skull. Officers checked the area and found the skeletal remains of a human torso approximately 20 feet from the skull.
Hiker's account
Christopher Blandy, one of the hikers who discovered the skull, contacted Patch on Sunday to comment on their discovery. He said he and a companion set out Saturday morning from the trailhead. Instead of their normal route up the main trail, they decided to take a different route by gaining the ridgeline to the west of the trail and connecting to a bootleg path that leads to Parker Mesa Overlook.
"I saw this bootleg trail on Google Maps satellite view and decided it would be a good adventure," Blandy said in an email.
He said the two passed the newly constructed trail entrance at the end of Los Liones Drive and turned left. After doubling back from checking out a small trail on the other side of a creek bed, they found a game trail that seemed to lead up to the ridgeline.
Blandy said they hit a dead-end and doubled back again, but stopped after he saw some beer bottles on the hillside and noticed that the foilage had been trampled quite a bit leading upslope. The two hikers ascended upslope and, after about 50 feet, realized they were probably on the bootleg trail leading up to the ridgeline.
It was at this point Blandy said his friend saw a human jaw bone just on the ground next to the game trail.
"I had walked right past it without noticing, but when I looked back I realized it was most likely a human jaw," Blandy said, noting it had 16 teeth, although about 4 to 5 were missing. "I started looking around for more and then noticed the rest of the skull just downslope in a bush."
The two hikers walked to Fire Station 23 at Los Liones Drive and Sunset Boulevard to alert fire personnel, who then called LAPD. Police arrived by 11:15 a.m.
Detectives from the West Bureau Homicide Unit and investigators from the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office went to the scene. The exact cause and mode of death cannot be determined until an autopsy is performed, according to police. The remains have not been identified.
A call to the public information officer at the coroner's office Sunday afternoon was not immediatley returned.
Missing UCLA student's family updates Facebook page
On Sunday afternoon, the Find David Goeser Facebook Group updated its Facebook page with this status:
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call West Bureau Homicide Detectives Robledo or Freund at 213-382-9470. During weekends and off-hours, call the 24-hour toll free number at 877-LAPD24-7 (877-527-3247). Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477).
LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating the unidentified skeletal remains of a human body found Saturday morning near the entrance of a local trail.
According to police, West LAPD officers responded to a radio call of a death investigation at 10:45 a.m. near the entrance of Los Liones Canyon Trail in Pacific Palisades in the 500 block of Los Liones Drive. Two people were hiking near the trail when they spotted what appeared to be a human skull. They then reported what they saw at a nearby L.A. city fire station. Personnel there in turn notified police.
Upon arrival, officers were directed to an area near a hiking trail not far from the entrance to the Los Liones Canyon Trail where they found the remains of what appeared to be a human skull. Officers checked the area and found the skeletal remains of a human torso approximately 20 feet from the skull.
Hiker's account
Christopher Blandy, one of the hikers who discovered the skull, contacted Patch on Sunday to comment on their discovery. He said he and a companion set out Saturday morning from the trailhead. Instead of their normal route up the main trail, they decided to take a different route by gaining the ridgeline to the west of the trail and connecting to a bootleg path that leads to Parker Mesa Overlook.
"I saw this bootleg trail on Google Maps satellite view and decided it would be a good adventure," Blandy said in an email.
He said the two passed the newly constructed trail entrance at the end of Los Liones Drive and turned left. After doubling back from checking out a small trail on the other side of a creek bed, they found a game trail that seemed to lead up to the ridgeline.
Blandy said they hit a dead-end and doubled back again, but stopped after he saw some beer bottles on the hillside and noticed that the foilage had been trampled quite a bit leading upslope. The two hikers ascended upslope and, after about 50 feet, realized they were probably on the bootleg trail leading up to the ridgeline.
It was at this point Blandy said his friend saw a human jaw bone just on the ground next to the game trail.
"I had walked right past it without noticing, but when I looked back I realized it was most likely a human jaw," Blandy said, noting it had 16 teeth, although about 4 to 5 were missing. "I started looking around for more and then noticed the rest of the skull just downslope in a bush."
The two hikers walked to Fire Station 23 at Los Liones Drive and Sunset Boulevard to alert fire personnel, who then called LAPD. Police arrived by 11:15 a.m.
Detectives from the West Bureau Homicide Unit and investigators from the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office went to the scene. The exact cause and mode of death cannot be determined until an autopsy is performed, according to police. The remains have not been identified.
A call to the public information officer at the coroner's office Sunday afternoon was not immediatley returned.
Missing UCLA student's family updates Facebook page
On Sunday afternoon, the Find David Goeser Facebook Group updated its Facebook page with this status:
Dear friends, we’ve been notified by LAPD that Saturday a body was found in the Pacific Palisades area that fits David’s description. While the family continues to work with law enforcement to confirm the identity, we ask for your prayers and ongoing support. Your respect for the privacy of the Goeser family during this difficult time is appreciated.Goeser is a missing 22-year-old UCLA student whose car was found in July in the vicinity of the hiking trail.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call West Bureau Homicide Detectives Robledo or Freund at 213-382-9470. During weekends and off-hours, call the 24-hour toll free number at 877-LAPD24-7 (877-527-3247). Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477).
