On Friday, May 15th, a farmworker discovered a pair of pants containing human remains while doing irrigation work.
The orchard, which was recently replanted, is located west of Raisin City and near the intersection of Manning and Westlawn Ave. The worker made a report to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office and homicide detectives responded to the property.
Since the discovery, approximately 30 Search and Rescue team members went to the land and conducted an extensive grid search on the 80 acre parcel. SAR was able to locate additional skeletal remains, but they appear to be animal bones. However, they will be evaluated to see if any are human.
A local anthropologist is now analyzing the bones to try and determine the person’s gender, age, race, height and weight. Detectives found some coins in the pockets of the pants which were dated between 1965 – 1979. This information tells detectives that the body could have been buried as many as 36 years ago. A watch and keychain were also found with the pants. The keychain appears to have the Chevrolet logo on it. The watch has a manufacturer name and model of Lonqine Electra 25 on it. Detectives would like to speak with members of the public who may be able to help identify these articles and whom they belonged to.
The Department of Justice has a historical file of more than 1,400 people who have been reported missing in Fresno County. Detectives will use this list during the course of their investigation to try and determine whether or not the remains belong to a missing person.
This remains an ongoing investigation. Anyone with information on this case is asked to the Sheriff’s Detective Matt Hamilton at (559) 600-8210 or Crime Stoppers at (559) 498-STOP (7867).
