Authorities have identified the human remains found in a Yolo County creek bed in April as those of Jose Luis Velasquez, a 37-year-old Colusa County man reported missing in October 2008, the Yolo County Sheriff's Office has reported.
The remains were found by hunters April 17 in a dry creek bed in the northern part of the county, the sheriff's office reported.
Coroner's officials and anthropologists who examined the remains estimated they had been there for about two or three years, said sheriff's Sgt. Lance Faille.
Investigators pulled missing persons reports fitting that general time frame and zeroed in on Velasquez, Faille said. At the time the remains were found, Velasquez "was the only outstanding missing person listed for the Yolo County and Colusa County Sheriff's Offices, who had been missing for the past several years," according to a Yolo County sheriff's news release.
The release also provided these details:
Velasquez was reported missing in October 2008 by family members who became concerned after not hearing from him for several weeks.
Forensic scientists with the state Department of Justice, Bureau of Forensic Services, analyzed the remains and compared the DNA to DNA from several of Velasquez's family members to positively identify the remains.
The circumstances of Velasquez's death are considered suspicious by investigators, though the cause of his death has not been determined, the sheriff's office reported. Investigators will conduct further searches to locate more of Velasquez's remains, which may help determine a cause of death.
Anyone with information about Velasquez's disappearance is asked to call Yolo County Sheriff's Sgt. Lance Faille at (530) 668-5212.









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