CA CA - Point Arena, WhtMale, 25-35, UP78821, found in remote area, homicide by gunshot, wrapped in rug, tattoo of Grecian cross, Mar '81

[citizen_sleuth]

NamUs #UP78821

Demographics
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White / Caucasian
Estimated Age Group: Adult
Estimated Age Range (Years): N/A (News reports say 25-35)
Estimated Year of Death: N/A
Estimated PMI: N/A (News reports say 2 to 3 months)
Height: 5'10" - 5'11" (70 - 71 inches), Estimated
Weight: Cannot Estimate
Cause of Death: Homicide by gunshot

Circumstances
Type: Unidentified Deceased
Date Body Found: March 16, 1981
NamUs Case Created: March 17, 2021
ME/C QA Reviewed: N/A
Location Found: Near Point Arena, California
County: Mendocino County
Circumstances of Recovery: A bicyclist discovered the body, wrapped in an Oriental-style rug, in a remote, wooded area approximately 50 yards off of Schooner Gulch Road south of Point Arena. An autopsy revealed the man, believed to be 25 to 35 years old, had been shot once in the top of the head. He is believed to have been deceased for two to three months before his body was found.
Inventory of Remains: N/A
Condition of Remains: Not recognizable - Near complete or complete skeleton

Physical Description
Hair Color: Brown
Head Hair Description: N/A (Described as "long" and "light brown" in news reports)
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinctive Physical Features: Red and blue tattoo which includes a cross and what appears to be a dove approximately one-third of the way up the right deltoid area. This is in the form of an old Grecian cross with a circle behind it.

Clothing and Accessories
- White colored knit tank top; Light colored work shirt with snaps on the sleeve; Blue jeans; Red heavy knit cotton socks; Brown cowboy boots with a ribbed composition sole, size 10-11 (On the Body)

News Coverage
"Body found on coast," Ukiah Daily Journal, 17 March 1981, 3.

The badly decomposed body of a man was found yesterday near Point Arena, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office in Fort Bragg.

Deputies say a citizen discovered the body of a man about 25-30 years old in a remote, wooded area along Schooner Gulch Road, south of Point Arena.

Because of the area in which the body was found, police say they believe foul play is involved.

So far, no identification of the body has been made, though police have had dental charts made and are now soliciting information on missing persons from other agencies. Deputies say they have not yet been able to determine the cause of death.

"Gunshot Wound Confirmed In Body Found Last Week," Independent Coast Observer [Gualala, CA], 27 March 1981, 1.

Mendocino County Sheriff's investigators have confirmed that the body discovered last week near Schooner Gulch Road had sustained a single gunshot wound to the top of the head, and was found wrapped in an Oriental-design rug. A dental chart of the deceased, whose time of death was estimated at about two to three months ago, is being transmitted to the California State Department of Justice for a possible match-up from the Missing Persons Bureau.

A bicyclist had discovered the body March 16, in a wooded area about 50 yards off Schooner Gulch Road. The victim was described by the Mendocino County Sheriff's Department as a white male, age 20-35, 5 feet, 10 inches, with long light brown hair, and a tattoo of a cross on the upper right arm.

 

[Bit of hope]

Meaning of Grician = Greek (especially with reference to ancient Greece).

Greek cross

In order for the cross to be considered truly Greek, all four arms need to be of an equal length.

With a circle behind it...I have the feeling this is more like a Celtic cross, but I'm not sure.

 

[Bit of hope]

I think this murder may be related somehow to the drug cultivation.

Marijuana culture;NEWLN:Violence, intimidation and murder in Calif. county where it's grown

From the air, the hills of Humboldt County look like a blanket heaped on the floor. The almost endless folds fill with fog from the Pacific and -- in autumn...

www.upi.com

OCT. 29, 1983

Marijuana culture;NEWLN:Violence, intimidation and murder in Calif. county where it's grown​

The detectives at the county sheriff's office, which investigated nine marijuana-related killings between October 1981 and October 1982, are certain more victims are still to be found.

'I'm sure there's dead bodies around,' said Lt. Dennis DeCarli, chief of detectives.

Violence, intimidation and murder are manifestations of the marijuana culture in Humboldt County, a prime growing area for sinsemilla, a more potent and expensive version of pot.