JOSHUA TREE, CA — Skeletal remains found last week at Joshua Tree National Park were determined to be human, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department announced Monday night. Though authorities have not confirmed an identity, it is believed the remains belong to a hiker who disappeared in the park last spring.
The remains were found around noon Thursday by researchers working in the park, according to the sheriff’s department. It’s not clear who the researchers were, but they summoned National Park Service rangers who in turn contacted the sheriff’s department.
The remains were found off a trail in the Riverside County area of the park, according to sheriff’s Sgt. Wenndy Brito-Gonzalez.
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Joshua Tree National Park straddles Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
The identity and cause of death of the deceased have not yet been determined by the coroner’s bureau, according to the sheriff’s department.
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The executive director of a local organization that works to support families of missing hikers told News Channel 3 that a backpack belonging to missing hiker Trammell Evans was found near the remains.
Evans, 25, of Jacksonville, Florida, was last seen April 30, 2023, when he was dropped off by a friend at the park’s Black Rock Campground.
“Evans planned to hike from Black Rock to Geology Tour Road, then back to Black Rock via the California Riding and Hiking Trail,” according to a National Park Service news release. “Evans was supposed to be picked up on Friday, May 5, 2023, at 11 a.m. Evans was reported missing at 1 p.m. on May 5, 2023, and park rangers and the [Joshua Tree Search and Rescue] team responded immediately.”
Evans’ planned route was around 60 miles roundtrip.
Evans was an experienced hiker who had traversed the area before, his family told News Channel 3.
Evans did not register for a backcountry use permit, according to the NPS, which reported that the hiker’s last known place of residence was Los Angeles, “but he moves frequently.”
Archive weather reports show the temperature exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the park on the date of Evans’ disappearance.
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The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is asking anyone with any information about the case to contact Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station at 760-836–1600 or call anonymously at 760-341-STOP (7867) and reference incident #O240250071.
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