Human bones possibly found during search for SLO County boy swept away in flood, sheriff says
Around 250 bones — including seven that possibly came from a human adult — were found during a recent search for a missing San Miguel boy, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Wednesday.
Kyle Doan, 5, was swept away by floodwaters on Jan. 9.
The Sheriff’s Office led a two-day expansive search effort Saturday and Sunday, with a total of 330 professional search-and-rescue crew members scouring a 6-mile-long and half-mile-wide section of the Salinas River that meets up with San Marcos Creek. Large parts of the river were still covered in massive piles of debris from winter floods.
The searchers failed to find any sign of Doan, a kindergarten student at Lillian Larsen Elementary School, during the weekend search.
However, Sheriff’s Office personnel located some items, including a small Nike shoe, early in the investigation.
Tony Cipolla, spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office, said Wednesday that almost all the bones found during the most recent search for Doan were from animals.
Approximately seven bones are “possible human bone fragments,” he said, and appear to be consistent with those of an adult. Those bones have been sent to a lab to be tested.
For context, Cipolla added, “It’s not uncommon for Native American remains to be found near waterways since they used those areas as burial grounds.”
The Sheriff’s Office said it will now determine the best steps moving forward in the search for Kyle.
“At this time the Sheriff’s Office will be assessing the situation to determine what is reasonable and possible going forward,” the Sheriff’s Office said via Twitter on Sunday.
“We would like to thank everyone who assisted this weekend as well as our community for the ongoing support,” the agency added.
This story was originally published July 12, 2023 at 12:38 PM.
