Body Found In Forest, Murder Suspected

A murder victim, apparently from the Bay Area was discovered late Thursday night on Stanislaus National Forest land east of Camp Connell in Calaveras County.

The Hayward Police Department in Alameda County is working the case. Investigators believe the victim – an unidentified man – was killed and the body dumped in Calaveras County and the suspected murder involved the use of methamphetamine. They requested Calaveras County help look for the body.

The sheriff´s department, joined by an Ebbetts Pass Search and Rescue crew, roamed forest land between Camp Connell and Cottage Springs last night. The body was found and the search called off around 2 a.m. Friday morning.

A sheriffs spokesman estimated the body had been there four to five days and was covered in mud, rocks and trees.