Hiker stumbles upon mysterious skeletal remains at California seashore, rangers say

A hiker at a California park discovered human skeletal remains that had been there “for some time,” park rangers said.

The parkgoer told rangers at Point Reyes National Seashore on Thursday that they had found remains in the park.

“The discovery is in a remote location away from any trails,” park officials said in a Monday news release. “Point Reyes National Seashore visitor and resource protection rangers hiked to the reported location where they found human skeletal remains.”

There were no personal items near the skeletal remains, so park rangers couldn’t identify the person. The remains looked like they had been in the park “for some time,” rangers said.

Several agencies are now investigating the human remains. The person’s identity and manner of death are a mystery.

“There are no initial indicators of foul play,” officials said. “Park officials advise hikers to always let someone know where you plan to hike and what time you plan to return.”

Point Reyes National Seashore encompasses more than 71,000 acres of land. It has more than 150 miles of hiking trails.

In 2020, more than 2 million people visited the National Park Service site, according to the agency.

This story was originally published September 14, 2021 at 10:40 AM with the headline "Hiker stumbles upon mysterious skeletal remains at California seashore, rangers say."