Jan 18, 2008 5:44 pm US/Pacific
Dead Body Found At SF Ocean Beach Identified
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) ―
-
-
Emergency crews surround the body of a man in his mid-40s on San Francisco's Ocean Beach Tuesday morning.
CBS
The puzzling case of a naked man found dead under a mound of sand at Ocean Beach last week may become clearer within days, when investigators hope to hear from the man's out-of-state family, a National Parks Service spokesman said Friday.
The San Francisco medical examiner's office has identified the man from fingerprint records in an FBI database, but has yet to reach any family so the office is not releasing his name at this time, said National Parks Service spokesman Rich Weideman. The man's presence in FBI records does not necessarily mean he had a criminal history, but could indicate he had served in the military or been employed by a federal agency, he added.
The man was not originally from the Bay Area, and did not appear to be homeless, according to Weideman.
"It's very likely he was either visiting out here, or had been out here, and something happened," he said.
Phone numbers for possible next-of-kin are not current, Weideman added, so investigators have mailed letters to addresses on the East Coast and in one northern state, which may arrive Tuesday or Wednesday, he said.
The victim, described as white man in his mid-40s, with a medium to heavy build, was found at about 5 a.m. on Jan. 15 by a group of young people who came to build a bonfire at one of the beach's campfire rings across from the Beach Chalet.
According to Weidemen, the man was lying facedown and covered by sand, completely naked except for a pair of white socks on his feet that emerged from the sand.
Preliminary autopsy results "are looking like it's a potential suspicious death," because of unspecified internal injuries the man sustained, Weideman said.
In addition, he said, "the body was likely moved to where it ended up." He said investigators believe it was brought there sometime between midnight and 4:30 a.m.
No wounds or blood were found on the man, nor were any drug paraphernalia or external indications of drug use discovered on the man's body, according to Weideman. Toxicology results are due back within about two weeks, he said.
Weideman called the case "just really odd."
"If you were going to purposefully hide somebody, this would be the last place you would do it," he mused.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
CBS 5 CrimeWatch
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Comments