UNSOLVED CA - Salt Creek, WhtMale, >50, prosthetic in shoulder, prior facial trauma, Feb'13

The Shasta County Coroner’s Office is hoping the public can help identify three sets of bones found within the last year now that forensic anthropologists have gotten some clues from the remains.

The bones all were found between July and March, with one set uncovered in the Henderson Open Space area, another near the Old Millhouse Deli on Highway 299 and the most recent discovered near Locust Street and the Anderson Cottonwood Irrigation Canal in Redding.

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The two more recently discovered bodies — found in February and March — have more potential clues to their identities based on clothing and other things, Breshears said.

The remains found in February off Highway 299 near Salt Creek are also from a man, Breshears said, and he was probably white and at least 50 years old when he died.

The man was likely between 5 feet, 6 inches and 6 feet tall, Breshears said. Perhaps the most telling trait is a prosthetic in his right shoulder, she said, but the man also had severe facial trauma from before his death, possibly caused by a car accident. The prosthetic is by DePuy, Breshears said, and investigators believe it may have been implanted locally in 1999.

She said the shoulder issues may have been related to his facial injury or could have been a result of arthritis.

In addition, she said, the man likely wore dentures.

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Breshears is asking anyone who thinks they may know identity of the remains to call her office at 225-5551.

She said, it’s important to remember that guesses on a person’s age and other identifying traits are not rock-solid, so if someone thinks the remains could be those of someone who doesn’t perfectly match the above descriptions, it’s still a good idea to call the coroner’s office.

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He left everything he had to the Humane Society in Birmingham. He told the director there before he went missing that he was leaving town and he wanted them to have his stuff, including his two dogs.

Maples lost his father to cancer when he was a baby. His mother passed away due to cancer in the 70's and his sister passed away from a heart condition while in high school. Friends specualte he may have left the area to escape the bad memories.

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