Accident – Death – Obituary News :

Investigators Identify Cold Case Homicide Victim with Possible Ties to Bay Area

Authorities in Arizona have made a breakthrough in a decades-old cold case homicide investigation. The San Francisco Police Department announced on social media Tuesday that they have identified the victim and believe he may have connections to the Bay Area. Law enforcement is now appealing to the public for assistance in locating any relatives or individuals who may have information about the case.

The discovery of human remains in a shallow grave in a desert area of Arizona was made by hikers in November 1976, according to the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office. The victim, described as a man standing at 5 feet 8 inches tall, aged between 30 and 35 years old, and weighing between 140 and 150 pounds, had suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head at close range.

Despite obtaining fingerprints during the autopsy, authorities were unable to identify the victim at the time, as there were no available means to compare the prints nationally. However, in October of this year, investigators from the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office decided to revisit the case. By comparing the digital images of the unidentified man’s fingerprints from 1976 to the existing national database, they were able to finally determine his identity as Luis Alonso Paredes, originally from El Salvador.

Investigators now believe that Paredes may have been residing or working in the Las Vegas area at the time of his death. They also suspect that he may have been employed by the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy in the San Francisco Bay Area nearly a decade prior to the tragic incident.

Despite these significant developments, the Sheriff’s Office has been unable to locate any of Paredes’ relatives or next of kin. Therefore, they are urging anyone with information that could aid in this case or help identify Paredes’ family to come forward. Individuals who may have valuable information are encouraged to contact the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office detective division at (928) 753-0753, ext. 4288, and reference DR# 76-5053.

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