HEMET: Officials investigating after man’s body found on hiking trail
HEMET — Sheriff’s officials have confirmed they are conducting an unattended death investigation after a man’s lifeless body was found along a hiking trail Sunday afternoon, Apr. 8. The victim’s body was discovered between Hemet and Mountain Center, along a hiking trail off SR-74, about seven miles east of Bee Canyon.
Area resident Cindy Haskin later explained her adult son and a friend of his who had gone to camp along the hiking trail found the man’s body and reported the discovery to law enforcement officers. Haskin explained the two men found the victim’s body near the riverbed at the bottom of the South Fork Trail.
According to Haskin the man, believed by her son to be about 50 to 70-years-old, had hiking and camping gear with him and appeared to have been there “for some time” and her son described the man’s remains were in “tough shape.”
Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Hemet Station were dispatched to the South Fork Trail about 3 p.m., after receiving a 911 call reporting a deceased body found along the popular hiking trail, Riverside Sheriff’s Sergeant Chris Willison explained in a written press release yesterday afternoon.
When officials arrived, they located the man’s body and confirmed he was deceased at the scene.
“Based on the location of the deceased, personnel from the Aviation Unit and the Coroner’s Bureau hoisted the body off the trial,” said Willison, who explained, “At this time there are no signs of foul play and this is being treated as an unattended death.”
Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact the Hemet Sheriff Station at (951) 791-3400. Callers can refer to incident file number D180980036 and can remain anonymous. Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s CrimeTips online form.
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Trevor Montgomery, 46, recently moved to Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident.
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 27 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and has 13 children and 14 grandchildren.
Do you happen to have any update on this story? I hiked that entire trail on 3/31/18 and saw nothing out of the ordinary, interested to find out what happened to this man… if it was a fall, heart attack or what. Did they find a car, had he been reported missing? Thanks!