Identified! CA - Burning, bullet-riddled van found/body inside; 24 Nov 2018 - Frank Pinckney

[cybervampira]

Mendocino Sheriff

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Incident Number: 2018-34612

Crime/Incident: Suspicious Death, Possible Homicide [187 PC]

Location: Mile Post Marker 100 North Highway 1, Leggett CA

Date of Incident: 11-24-2018

Time: 1:13 PM

Victim(s): Adult Male

Suspect(s): White Male, approximately 6'00" tall, weighing approximately 180 pounds. Last seen wearing a white jumpsuit and heavy logging style boots.

Written By: Lieutenant Shannon Barney

Synopsis: On 11-24-2018 around 1:13 PM a citizen reported a vehicle fire at mile marker 100 on North Highway 1, just south of the Town of Leggett. The citizen reportedly saw an adult male, possibly in his 50's, wearing a white jumpsuit and heavy logging style boots fleeing the scene. The witness indicated the man's legs appear to be on fire as he was last seen running onto a private gated logging road to the southeast of Highway 1.

Personnel from the California Highway Patrol, Leggett Valley Fire Department and Cal Fire personnel responded to the scene to extinguish the fire and discovered a deceased male inside the vehicle. Emergency personnel saw what appeared to be numerous bullet holes in the side of the van and a gun was located on the ground nearby.

The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office initiated a criminal investigation into a possible homicide based upon witness statements and evidence located at the scene. The Mendocino County Inter-agency SWAT Team was requested to assist with a search of the nearby logging roads where the suspect was last seen. A search of the area was conducted but the suspect was not located. The suspect was described as a white male, in his 50's, approximately 6'00" tall, weighing approximately 180 pounds. The suspect may have suffered burns to his legs, hands, and may have singed hair.

The burned vehicle, a 2004 White Ford Econoline Van (California Lic. #8Y79772), was registered to 58-year-old Frank Pinckney, out of Eureka CA. The vehicle is further described as being a utility van with a lift gate on the rear and a large mirror attached to the back door. At this time Frank Pinckney is missing and family members are concerned for his well being. A vehicle similar to the involved van is pictured below.

The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office is asking for the public's assistance. Anyone with information related to the suspect or anyone who might have seen Frank Pinckney or his vehicle in the past several days is asked to contact the Sheriff's Office Communications Center at 707-463-4086 or the Sheriff's Tip Line at 707-234-2100.

Approved by: Lieutenant Shannon Barney

Missing Eureka Man's Bullet-Riddled Van Found Burning Near Leggett With Body Inside; Mendo Sheriff's Office Searching for Man Seen Fleeing the Scene While Legs Were on Fire

 

[cybervampira]

Missing Eureka Man Linked to Burning Van Found With Body in It, Says Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office

[...]

The citizen reportedly saw an adult male, possibly in his 50’s, wearing a white jump suit and heavy logging style boots fleeing the scene. The witness indicated the man’s legs appear to be on fire as he was last seen running onto a private gated logging road to the southeast of Highway 1.Personnel from the California Highway Patrol, Leggett Valley Fire Department and Cal Fire personnel responded to the scene to extinguish the fire and discovered a deceased male inside the vehicle. Emergency personnel saw what appeared to be numerous bullet holes in the side of the van and a gun was located on the ground nearby.

[...]

 

[cybervampira]

[UPDATE 4:28 p.m.] Body Found in Burning Van; Witness Describes Encounter With Suspect

[...]

Rennie said then he saw a man underneath the van. At first, he thought the man was on fire. “The guy underneath it was totally bizarre. Initially, when I saw the scene, I was kind of bewildered. My first assumption was that he was trying to put the fire out.”

Then the man rolled out from underneath the van, Rennie said. “His leg was on fire…He was patting his leg and jumping around…He was yelling incoherently and ran around to the back of the vehicle.”

[...]

The fire crews found a body in the fire and told him he needed to stick around. “Me and another bystander walked up to where the vehicle [had been],” Rennie explained. He took the picture of the burnt cellphone, the gun, and the drill shown above at that time. Those items had been left behind when the van rolled away.

[...]

 

[carbuff]

That is very very bizarre.

 

[SuziQ]

Strange!

 

[LadyL]

hmmm ... not sure what to think about this one

 

[carbuff]

Any updates?

 

[StarryNight]

This is so strange! I really hope this isn't one of those stories that just disappears from the news before anymore info is released.

 

[ilovematt]

Wait, so fire crews found a body in the fire? So the killer shot the guy while inside the van then sets it on fire but accidentally set himself alight? But he was under the van? Maybe retrieving a house key underneath, my dad wires one under his. Idk why else a man would be under a van, much less on fire. What the..? I hope we find out more.

 

[j_in_c]

Wait, so fire crews found a body in the fire? So the killer shot the guy while inside the van then sets it on fire but accidentally set himself alight? But he was under the van? Maybe retrieving a house key underneath, my dad wires one under his. Idk why else a man would be under a van, much less on fire. What the..? I hope we find out more.

From the article and some comments - it seems there was also a drill found under the van. It is speculated he went under the van to drill a hole in the gas tank before starting the fire, but perhaps a spark from the drill did the job unexpectedly and he set himself on fire.

 

[Auntie Cipation]

Do I remember correctly that the flaming-leg dude ran off into the woods? Was there a "getaway" vehicle nearby? Or was his plan all along to leave on foot? Oh, if this was on a state highway maybe he thought he could thumb a ride back to town?

Major forest fires have started from far less than this, so thank goodness that didn't happen at least.

 

[Hraefn]

[UPDATE 4:28 p.m.] Body Found in Burning Van; Witness Describes Encounter With Suspect

[...]

Rennie said then he saw a man underneath the van. At first, he thought the man was on fire. “The guy underneath it was totally bizarre. Initially, when I saw the scene, I was kind of bewildered. My first assumption was that he was trying to put the fire out.”

Then the man rolled out from underneath the van, Rennie said. “His leg was on fire…He was patting his leg and jumping around…He was yelling incoherently and ran around to the back of the vehicle.”

[...]

The fire crews found a body in the fire and told him he needed to stick around. “Me and another bystander walked up to where the vehicle [had been],” Rennie explained. He took the picture of the burnt cellphone, the gun, and the drill shown above at that time. Those items had been left behind when the van rolled away.

[...]

So the gun/power drill/cell phone were found by civilian witnesses after LE left the scene? Yikes.

 

[cybervampira]

So the gun/power drill/cell phone were found by civilian witnesses after LE left the scene? Yikes.

Either they were sloppy, or they were chasing the suspect?

 

[iulia]

Eureka Man ID'd as Person Found Dead in Burning Van, Daughter Says

The body found in a burning van Nov. 24 in a pullout a few miles west of Leggett on U.S. Highway 1 has been identified as missing Eureka man, Frank Pinckney, his daughter Jasmine Barreto said today. He was 58.

“They matched dental records and confirmed,” she told Redheaded Blackbelt. “I was notified Thursday.