Human remains found in Point Reyes National Seashore

Authorities are investigating after a human skeleton was found last week in a remote section of the Point Reyes National Seashore, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office said.

The skeletonized human remains were found around 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 9 by somebody walking off trail in the Olema Valley, west of the Five Brooks Trailhead. The location was not near the park’s hiking trail system, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

The remains were reported to authorities, who hiked to the scene and brought the skeleton to the Marin County Sheriff’s Office Coroner Division laboratory.

“The overall condition of the remains and items located at the scene is suggestive of them having been exposed to the elements for a significant time period,” the Sheriff’s Office said.

Identifying the person who died “will be a long and laborious process,” the Sheriff’s Office said. It will involve the California Department of Justice Missing and Unidentified Persons Section, a state DNA lab, a human identification lab at California State University, Chico, a forensic dental examiner and the Coroner’s Division.

The Sheriff’s Office and Point Reyes National Seashore rangers are investigating the cause of death.

You can reach Staff Writer Matt Pera at matthew.pera@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @Matt__Pera.