Mt. Veeder Man still unknown after 10 years of investigating

By MARSHA DORGAN
Register Staff Writer

It’s been a long, sometimes tedious task, but for more than a decade, Napa County coroner investigators have been chipping away, going over and over evidence, trying to identify the human remains known only as Mt. Veeder Man.

The remains — a skull with a bullet hole, a foot still inside a weather-beaten sock, and several other bones and fragments — were discovered by landowners who were surveying their property lines on Mount Veeder in 1997.

Since then, Mt. Veeder Man has become a permanent resident at the county morgue in the basement of the sheriff’s department on Airport Road.

The bones are kept in a U-Haul, a wine box and a brown paper sack, all methodically tagged with Mt. Veeder Man’s criminal case number. The skull, which is missing the bottom jaw bone, is carefully packed in Styrofoam to prevent any further damage.

The bullet hole in the right temple of the skull, which was made by a .22-caliber Ruger handgun, leaves no doubt in the investigators’ mind that they have an unsolved homicide on their hands.

“We try to work on cold cases when ever we have the time, at least once a week,” said Napa County sheriff’s deputy coroner investigator Jesse Ward.

But that time is limited, as Ward and deputy Dan Fiske are the only two sheriff’s deputies assigned strictly to coroner’s cases.

However, Ward and Fiske are only the latest to spend hours trying to uncover the identify of Mt. Veeder Man.

“I remember it well. It was my case,” said sheriff’s Lt. Jean Donaldson, who at the time was the investigating sergeant. “We would really like to solve this one.”

Sheriff’s Capt. Gene Lyerla, who heads the coroner division, said, “It’s good to get a new set of eyes. This is a very unusual case. This guy had extensive, expensive dental work. He most likely wasn’t a transient. What was he doing up there off Mt. Veeder Road in the remote area?”

Ward said anthropologist’s reports indicate the remains are that of a man in his late 20s to early 40s, 5-feet-6 to 5-feet-11, who wore a size 11 shoe.

Using the data collected by the coroner’s department and his own research, an anthropologist was able to sculpt out of clay a bust of what the man looked like at the time of his death.

“We had to guess about the length and color of the hair and eyes,” Ward said, pointing at the life-size clay bust mounted to a wooden base.

“Since we received the remains, the technology we use to identify bones and other evidence has advanced. Our X-rays we take now are much more detailed than the first ones. We can now detect hairline fractures and other abnormalities,” Ward said.

Investigators know the man died after 1980.

“We also found Budweiser beer cans. And we know that particular brand of Bud didn’t come out on the grocery shelves until after 1980,” Ward said. “We found his backpack, which was in pretty good shape considering the time lapse and the weather.”

Detectives also found the Ruger they believed fired the bullet into Mt. Veeder Man’s skull.

“But it was rusted shut and the serial number was messed up; it hasn’t helped us out a lot,” Lyerla said.

One of the best clues the investigators have to go on is the dental work. Six of the top teeth in the partial skull are gold. “This type of dental work makes us believe the man was affluent or in the military,” Ward said.

Dental X-rays have been sent to the Department of Justice in hopes finding a match. No such luck, Ward said, adding, “The same thing with the DNA we submitted, which is compared to DNA samples throughout the United States. So far, no matches.”

Investigators were able to identify the label of the burgundy shirt the man was wearing.

“We are positive he was wearing a Ralph Lauren polo shirt, blue sweatshirt, Levis and size 11 New Balance tennis shoes,” Ward said. “We also have fibers that are consistent (with the likelihood) that he was wearing a burgundy polyester vest and aviator sunglasses.”

The anthropologist determined the man may have been a horse rider after examining the configuration of the pelvic bones.

“It’s been a long time since this man died. We sure would like to confirm his identity and notify his family. Some where he most likely has some family who would like to put his disappearance to rest,” Ward said.

Anyone with information about case is asked to call the coroner’s division at 253-4256.

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