Body found on north Mendocino Coast may be that of missing camper

Search and rescue crews have located human remains stuck in the rocks off the northern Mendocino Coast not far from clothing matching that of a Santa Cruz woman who disappeared while camping nearby Friday.

A cellphone and other personal items belonging to 48-year-old Rebecca Jones were with the clothes when search crews found the remains Saturday, Mendocino County Sheriff’s Capt. Greg Van Patten said Sunday.

But hazardous surf and the position of a heavy boulder trapping the body in the water prevented crews from recovering the body for a positive identification both Saturday and Sunday, Van Patten said.

They were able to secure the remains with a rope so they can be removed when the waves subside, he said.

“The body is unidentified at this time, but speculation is that the body is that of Jones,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.

Jones was camping with a friend near Hardy Creek, between Westport and Rockport, when she walked away from their campsite around 11:30 a.m. Friday and failed to return, authorities said.

The distance from the campsite to the beach was about 200 yards, though it was not clear how far away the remains were found Saturday.

Authorities said Jones had an insulin pump for treatment of diabetes but apparently had no water or food with her.

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan (she/her) at 707-521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @MaryCallahanB.