Officials ask public for help after human remains found in California town

Unidentified human remains were found in a Southern California city last week, prompting a homicide investigation, Highland officials announced on Thursday.

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According to the May 28 news release from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, a site surveyor called Highland authorities at 10 a.m. on Wednesday after discovering skeletal human remains at the intersection of Greenspot and Alta Vista roads. When deputies arrived, they found the remains and alerted the sheriff’s homicide division, which conducted an “extensive search of the area,” the sheriff’s office said.

“Detectives, along with the Coroner’s Division and Crime Scene Specialists, searched the area and recovered the bone,” the release said. “The bone was an adult-sized humerus.” 

“The remains will undergo forensic examination, while additional information is pending DNA results for the identification of the remains,” it continued. 

According to NamUs, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, there’s only one other current case of unidentified human remains in the city of Highland. In March 1977, authorities found a deceased woman wearing a blue denim jumpsuit and Maltese cross in the foothills on the east side of Cook Canyon. Estimated to be between 30 and 55 years old, she’s described as 5-foot-2, 122 pounds with black hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion. She’s only identified as Jane Doe #01-77. Her full remains have been recovered. 

The database shows that the only missing person last seen in Highland was Dolores Martinez, who disappeared in July 1988 at the age of 35. She’s described as a Caucasian woman who’s 5-foot-7, with black hair and brown eyes. Today, she would be 73. 

Anyone with information about the skeletal remains found in Highland is encouraged to call the homicide department at 909-890-4904. Those who wish to remain anonymous can also call or text “REPORT” to We-Tip at 844-909-3006.  

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department did not respond to SFGATE’s request for additional information by the time of publication.