Mystery surrounds the discovery of a body found Thursday, April 9 near a popular hiking trail in Big Sur. The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, which is leading the investigation, confirmed the body found was that of a female, however, agency has not released any other details pending an autopsy that was scheduled to be conducted on Monday, April 13.
The death of the unidentified female is being treated as suspicious, according to Monterey County Sheriff’s officials.
On April 9, California State Parks and Monterey County Sheriff’s deputies were notified of a body seen in the area of Sykes Hot Springs, a natural hot springs located in the Ventana Wilderness area of the Los Padres National Forest. A group of hikers returning from a two-day hike in the backcountry told KSBW they had discovered the body Thursday morning and had seen markings around her neck.
Deputies were dispatched to the scene Thursday evening with assistance from the California Highway Patrol’s H70 Air Unit and located the body, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office. Adverse weather conditions prevented the retrieval of the body until the afternoon of Friday, April 10 by the Monterey County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team.
Sheriff’s officials say there is no public safety concern or threats to people who may be hiking or camping near the Sykes Hot Springs area. There are four wilderness camping sites along the Pine Ridge Trail. It is unknown whether the person was camping, hiking or living rough in the area, according to the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff’s office could not confirm as of Monday, April 13 whether the person who claimed to be a friend of the dead person, according to the KSBW report, was contacted by investigators.
“Nobody is in custody,” said Andres Rosas, the public information officer for the sheriff’s office. “People in the area have given statements.”
This is an active investigation, and no further information is available at this time.
This article originally appeared on Salinas Californian: Mystery surrounds body found near Big Sur hiking trail
Reporting by Roseann Cattani, Salinas Californian / Salinas Californian
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
