UPDATE: Body found in Burney Creek last March ID’d
BURNEY — Officials announced today that a man whose lifeless body was pulled from Burney Creek early last March has now been positively identified as 41-year-old, Derwin Dick Hall, of Redding.
Hall’s body was discovered partially submerged within the swollen creek near the diversion dam below the Park Ave. bridge, Sunday, March 3. Witnesses at the scene later told SCNS the body appeared to have been in the water “for an extended time.”
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Although responding officials confirmed the tragic discovery that evening, Hall’s body could not immediately be recovered safely, without endangering the lives of fire and rescue personnel.
Shasta County Sheriff’s Lt. T. Thompson told SCNS at the time that “due to the position of the body, the high flow of Burney Creek, and the technical nature of the recovery,” deputies were not initially able to attempt to recover the victim from the water.
Deputies secured the scene and waited until the next morning, when members of the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Mountain Rescue Team – who are trained in swift water rescues – and Burney Fire personnel were able to recover the victim’s body.
In late April, Shasta County Chief Deputy Coroner Lt. Randall updated that although a full determination of Hall’s cause of death is still pending toxicology results, foul play was not suspected to be a factor in his death.
In an update released by SCSO this morning, Randall reported that Hall’s family has been notified and a postmortem examination has been completed. The Chief Deputy Coroner did not provide any further details regarding the outcome of Hall’s autopsy.
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After Hall’s positive identification, Shasta County Sheriff’s Office thanked the public “for their responsiveness and providing information as to the decedent’s identity.”
The incident is still under investigation by the Shasta County Coroner’s Office.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta 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. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s 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 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.