Severed head found in bag, LA police say near Hollywood sign
Jan 18th, 2012 by Bilal Ali
A cadaver dog found part of a human hand Wednesday about 50 yards from where a severed head was discovered in a Hollywood Hills park Tuesday, police said.
“We’re hoping that we can find more remains,” Los Angeles Police Cmdr. Andrew Smith said.
The head — found Tuesday by two people walking dogs along a dirt trail, not far below the famous “Hollywood” sign — is that of a man between 40 and 60 years old, with salt-and-pepper-colored hair, Los Angeles County Deputy Chief Coroner Ed Winter said Wednesday.
Investigators “have every reason to believe” the hand and head belonged to the same person, Smith said.
It is possible an animal may have dragged the body parts from where they were initially placed, Smith said. Investigators suspect they had been in the park for about two days.
The body parts were found in brush off a secondary trail, about a half-mile from the park entrance, Smith said.
At least 30 Los Angeles police officers, a dozen coroner’s investigators, a SWAT team trained in climbing skills and mounted officers were searching a seven-acre section of Bronson Canyon, next to Griffith Park, Smith said.
Los Angeles police homicide investigators have begun checking recent missing-person reports for leads on the identity of the man whose head was found, Winter said.
The two people who reported finding the head told park rangers they were walking about nine dogs in the Bronson Canyon area of the park around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday when two of the dogs started playing with an object in a plastic grocery bag, police told CNN.
The rangers in turn notified robbery and homicide detectives, who are handling the investigation.