The San Benito County Sheriff’s Office is investigating human remains found off the side of Salinas Grade Road, according to authorities.
A family that was traveling in the area discovered the remains—believed to be those of an adult human male—about 12:15pm Jan. 6, according to Sheriff’s Capt. Eric Taylor. A member of the family found the remains inside a cement drainage tunnel downhill from the roadway, on Salinas Grade Road not far over the Monterey County line.
The family called 911, and authorities from Monterey and San Benito counties responded. Taylor said the remains were significantly decomposed, and investigators will have to test DNA samples in order to determine the man’s identity.
Investigators think the body had been decomposing in the location from “at least a few weeks to a few months,” Taylor said. The remains were mostly bones, with some human flesh remaining on the lower extremities.
The only belongings associated with the remains were a pair of pants and keys that were clipped to the belt, Taylor said.
Authorities are currently treating the remains as suspicious, and are awaiting the body’s identification to determine more details about how the man ended up in that location, Taylor said.
