Human remains found along Mendocino Coast determined to be man missing since 2018

Human remains found along the Mendocino Coast earlier this month have been determined through dental records to be a missing man last seen in 2018 while fleeing from a CHP officer investigating his apparent involvement in a hit-and-run crash, Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said.

Lewis Compton, 44, of Westport, had not contacted family or friends since the daytime collision on Nov. 13, 2018. Authorities said Compton fled from a CHP officer investigating the crash before he abandoned the Jeep he was driving on the side of Highway 1.

Family reported him missing to the county sheriff’s office six days later, but deputies chose not to search for him out of concerns that he may be armed and running from police, the agency said.

The Sheriff’s Office received a call on March 7 from a man who said he found human remains, clothing and shoes about a quarter-mile from where the Jeep was found.

A pathologist who examined the bones days later could not determine how the man died, Mendocino County Sheriff’s Capt. Gregory Van Patten said.

State Assemblymember Jim Wood, D-Santa Rosa, who works as a forensic dentist, compared Compton’s dental records with the skeleton’s teeth and determined there was a match, Van Patten said.

You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com.