SLO hiker finds human remains on Bishop Peak

The San Luis Obispo Police Department reported that a hiker discovered human remains off-trail on Bishop Peak Friday evening.

Police responded to the Bishop Peak trailhead on Highland Drive at 5:30 p.m. to investigate the report, according to a news release.



The hiker described the remains as just skeletal with clothing, as if the body had been in place for a long period of time, the release said.

Police officers and a San Luis Obispo sheriff’s deputy hiked up the mountain in an effort to locate the remains. After several hours of searching in the darkness, the search was called off due to safety conditions and was resumed Saturday morning, the report said.

Police detectives, sheriff personnel, the San Luis Obispo City Fire’s Urban Search and Rescue team, and a CHP helicopter located the skeletal remains of a human male on the north side of the mountain.

The identity of the person is not being released at this time. The cause of death is undetermined pending autopsy. It is believed the subject had been dead for several months or longer, the report stated.

This is an ongoing investigation.



Anyone with any information regarding this incident, is encouraged to contact SLO Police Det. Jeff Koznek at 805-781-7312, reference case number 211210069.