Skeletal remains of two bodies found in remote Napa County

Workers made the grisly discovery of a skull in a remote area of Napa County this week, leading investigators to uncover the skeletal remains of possibly two people off Butts Canyon Road, authorities said Friday.

Napa County Sheriff's Lt. Keith Behlmer said that the bones were found on a hillside off Butts Canyon Road near Snell Valley Road on Wednesday.

Concrete workers driving along the road on Monday had spotted what they thought might have been a skull, and they took a closer look Wednesday when they returned to the area, confirming their suspicions, Behlmer said. They alerted the Sheriff's Office at about 10:20 a.m.

Deputies guarded the area Wednesday and on Thursday a team including a forensic doctor conducted a search of the hillside, and discovered “enough bones to determine there were actually two bodies,” Behlmer said.

Deputies found no obvious signs of trauma to the bones or other evidence that might suggest foul play, he said.

The remains were found on the periphery of the 4,300-acre area burned in the July 2014 Butts fire, leading investigators to consider the possibility that the people might have perished while fleeing the fire.

However, that is just one theory under consideration in the early stages of the investigation. A forensic anthropologist will be brought in to analyze the bones.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.