Human remains found in Northern California forest near abandoned truck

Human remains were found in a Northern California forest near an abandoned pickup that belonged to a missing Oregon man, officials said.

The Glenn County Sheriff’s Office said it’s investigating whether the remains belong to Donald Stockwell Jr., 81, who was reported missing on Jan. 31, 2022. Stockwell was reported as an at-risk missing person with dementia.

Detectives with the sheriff’s office said the truck belonged to Stockwell.

The abandoned Chevy pickup was found Thursday in an area of Mendocino National Forest open to off-road recreational vehicles that’s known as Road 20N59, the Glenn County Sheriff’s Office said in a Thursday news release. The nearly million-acre national forest is in the Coast Range of northwestern California, about three hours from San Francisco.

Stockwell was last seen on surveillance footage captured at a gas station a few days after being reported missing, on Feb. 2, 2022, filling up his truck at a Chevron in Willows, California the sheriff’s office said. After fueling his vehicle, Stockwell drove north on Humboldt Avenue. 

Detectives found the truck unlocked on Road 20N59. The Chevy had several items that detectives later confirmed belonged to Stockwell. 

The sheriff’s office said human remains were found about a quarter mile from Stockwell’s vehicle on Thursday and are still being identified by the agency. After searching the area, detectives said they don’t believe there is any evidence of foul play regarding Stockwell’s disappearance. 

The Glenn County Sheriff’s Office was in close communication with Stockwell’s family during the investigation, the agency said.