Human skull found in LA river bed; investigation underway

BELL, Calif. (KABC) -- Homicide investigators found a human skull in the Los Angeles river bed near Bell on Sunday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.

Investigators were called to the scene in the river bed north of Slauson Avenue and east of District Boulevard around 9:30 a.m.

According to detectives, East Los Angeles deputies were contacted after a man and woman found the remains as they walked in the river bed around 8 a.m.

The skull was not fully intact, and it was not immediately known how long the skull had been there, detectives said. The identity of the victim and a cause of death were not immediately known.

Given the recent storm, authorities say it could have come from anywhere.

"With the recent rains and the heavy wash here, it's just too early to tell how long the remains were here or if they washed up from a different portion from L.A.," said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Lt. Steve Jauch.

There are a lot of homeless encampments along the river. Detectives brought out a search dog to look for any additional evidence as they try to solve this mystery.

Authorities say it will be a very slow and long process to try and identify the skull.

"Investigations involving human remains, it's usually very time consuming, and it isn't something that we can solve early on, if at all," Jauch said. "We're obviously going to pour over some missing persons reports. We're going to ask anybody that has any information about folks that hang out in this area."

An investigation was ongoing. Anyone with information was asked to call the homicide bureau at (323) 890-5500.