Deceased Male Found in Chantry Flats – Handgun Found Nearby, Possibly Suspect in Recent Murder

Press release from Los Angeles Sheriff’s Dept.

Monday May 2, 2011 2:35 PM PDT

Deceased male found in Chantry Flats. Handgun found nearby.

Sheriff’s Homicide investigators report that the body of a deceased man was found in the Chantry Flats area this morning.   Identification of the remains has not yet been made, pending identification by the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office.

At about 8:30AM Monday morning, May 2, a hiker saw a male in the Chantry Flats area who he thought might be sleeping. However, he remembered reading in the Pasadena Star News newspaper about the search for a murderer in that area. He also remembered that the article included the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department cautioning the public that the suspect was armed and dangerous, and to not contact anyone they considered suspicious. Instead, they were asked to alert authorities.

The hiker walked to the closest ranger station and reported his suspicions. Rangers contacted the sheriff’s command post, which dispatched deputies to investigate.

Sheriff’s Mounted Enforcement Detail deputies went to the described area and located the deceased male. A handgun was found near the body. Sheriff’s Homicide investigators and Coroner’s investigators are at the scene.

The area where the body was found has a panoramic view of a nearby city. It was approximately six miles from Mount Wilson, where the car of the victim of the murder was found abandoned. The distance between the two locations is a steep slope of rugged terrain, about 3000’ vertical feet lower than the where the car was found.

The Chantry Flats recreation area, is in the San Gabriel Mountains of the Angeles National Forest, in an unincorporated area policed by Temple Sheriff’s Station of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Related stories:  Search Continues for Murder Suspect, Latest from LASD – http://www.sierramadrenews.net/?p=1358
Public’s Help Sought to Find Murder Suspect – http://www.sierramadrenews.net/?p=1362