Over the last month, two human skulls and other remains have been discovered in different remote locations in Monterey County, and a dead body was also found this week. Is this the work of a serial killer, or just a gruesome coincidence?

On Wednesday morning, the body of a man was found in a field near Highway 183 and McFadden Road, in an unincorporated area near Salinas, as KTVU reports. A forensic investigation is reportedly underway, and the manner of death is not yet known.

This incident may be entirely unrelated to two other grim discoveries in Monterey County in the last month, but authorities in Monterey County are not accustomed to human remains being discovered in multiple locations in such a short span of time.

As the Chronicle reports, on December 29, a land surveyor working near Viejo Road — a winding mountain road south of Monterey, due east of Pebble Beach, in an unincorporated area — came upon a human skull. Subsequently, investigators also found other human remains in the area.

According to the Monterey County Sheriff's Office, these remains are being DNA-tested and identification is pending.

Another discovery of remains occurred one month later, on January 29, when some people walking near Cachagua Road in Carmel Valley found a human skull. This discovery was also made in an unincorporated area of the county, and sheriff's deputies arrived and secured the scene.

"Over the course of several days, the scene was processed, and additional human remains were located and collected," the sheriff's office says in a release.

Investigations into these possibly unrelated deaths are ongoing, and the sheriff's office is not releasing any further information at this time.

A 42-year-old man who was known to frequent homeless encampments in Oakland and who was reported missing in August 2020 was the person who met with misadventure inside the abandoned Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center by Lake Merritt.

The body that was found by a construction worker last month and was initially described as "mummified" because of its state of apparent preservation inside a wall has finally been identified by the Alameda County Coroner’s Bureau as Joseph Edward Mejica. Mejica was last seen alive on August 22, 2020 in the vicinity of Sixth and Fallon streets in Oakland.

After not being able to contact him, Mejica's mother reported him missing, saying he was known to frequent homeless camps in Oakland and that he would occasionally steal copper wire from construction sites to sell for cash — a detail that might provide a clue as to what he was after in the empty convention center property.

Mejica's mother later offered a $5,000 reward for information about her son's wherabouts.

As the Chronicle first reported Monday, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office was able to conclusively identify Mejica via a tubular plate he had in his ankle — the serial number from which able to be cross-referenced at Highland Hospital. A DNA ample further confirmed Mejica's identity.

"This is a very unique investigation for us, in that the person was listed missing and found well over a year later," Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern told the Chronicle in a statement. And, Ahern said, given the state of decomposition, "we were fortunate to make an identification."

An initial estimate by coroner's investigators suggested that the remains had likely been inside the wall for three to five years, and that foul play was not suspected.

The best guess now is that Mejica fell from a high point in the building and somehow became trapped between an inner and an outer wall. The body then likely slowly slid downward into the wall gap as it decomposed.

It seems likely that Mejica was by himself in the building at the time, otherwise someone might have told authorities he was trapped in there.

A construction worker with Orton Development, Inc., which just days or weeks earlier had begun demo-ing interior walls in the historic convention center, discovered the body on March 9, 2022.

Orton won a contract with the City of Oakland in 2015 to redevelop the convention center as a performance venue, which it will then lease back to the city. Had the construction gotten underway on schedule in 2020, Mejica may never have had the chance to be rooting around inside.

Previously: Mummified Body Found In Oakland Convention Center Wall Was Likely Three to Five Years Old, Foul Play Not Suspected

Photo: Wikimedia

A "moderately decomposed" corpse was discovered Monday by a cleanup volunteer who was taking part in the eight annual Day of Service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The discovery occurred along the Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline in Oakland, and the body was spotted in the "mudflats between Arrowhead Marsh and the boat launch" in San Leandro Bay, according to an East Bay Regional Parks spokesperson who spoke to the Chronicle.

There was no obvious indication of foul play, but an autopsy will now occur by the Alameda County Coroner. According to the Contra Costa Times, the body was damaged in the storm, possibly by hitting rocks.

Says parks spokesperson Carolyn Jones in a statement, "On this day, of all days, and in this particular park ... it's especially tragic. Obviously, we all feel for the victim and his family whoever they may be and the people at the park today who were there."

The body reportedly belongs to a male in his 30s or 40s who was partially clothed, and no other description has been given. It seemed likely that the body washed ashore here from elsewhere, and a cause of death will have to be determined.

ABC 7 adds that "hundreds" typically participate in the volunteer cleanup events, which involve the pulling of weeds and invasive plants in various parks and gardens in the East Bay.

A ferry captain made a gruesome discovery during Tuesday morning's commute: a dead body, floating in the waters near Alcatraz island.

According to the Merc, the captain of a ferry headed from Sausalito to the Ferry Building sighted the body at around 7:33 this morning.

San Francisco Fire Department and Coast Guard crews responded, and by 8:30 a.m. had recovered the body and brought it onto an SFFD fireboat.

Sausalito resident and ferry passengerJennifer Gennari told the Merc that "The ferry turned around just before Alcatraz. It was very sudden, and when we looked over the port side, we understood why. The boat idled by the body until the Coast Guard came, about 20 minutes."

According to Coast Guard officials, it appears that the person had been dead for about a week. They did not have any other information on the deceased, including gender or apparel, at publication time.

Update: The body has been ID'd as missing tech worker Dan Ha.

According to reports, traffic on Geary at Gough and Franklin moves sluggish this morning after a dead body near St. Mary's Cathedral. SF Appeal notes: "Police responded to the area at 7:40, after a passer-by reported seeing a body. According to KTVU broadcast, police say they have recovered a gun from the scene, and say that the deceased person did not appear to be homeless."

Please avoid the area if at all possible.

According to Associated Press,"Sheriff's officials say they've found the body of a child in the Central California canal where a car linked to a nearby kidnapping case was recovered last week." Most likely, the body is that of five-year-old Juliani Cardenas, who was snatched from his grandmother's arms two weeks ago by Jose Rodriguez, the ex-boyfriend of the child's mother. Rodriguez's car was pulled from a nearby canal on Saturday. [SFGate]

Remember how Hassan Ben Ali committed suicide in front of Berkeley police last week? Then, after doing a search of Ali's Ashby Avenue apartment, the police found an entombed body at his residence? Well, it turns out the dead body, -- which was discovered "wrapped up and hidden behind a wall in the laundry room of the complex," according to reports -- was Hassan 's son, Taruk Joseph Ben Ali. It is believed that the latter died of a drug overdose in 2004. Allegedly. Anyway, it turns out his father was keeping his corpse behind a false wall (lined with air fresheners!) in an effort to get free rent. The Chronicle says that "Benali had owned the property, and police believe Bin Ali hid his son's body to continue collecting rent." (Huh?) Although according to KNTV, "[b]oth father and son had been living in and managing the apartment complex," our local rag claims that a "tenant of the building has told The Chronicle that in recent years [Taruk] had been paying rent to Bin Ali, who said he was collecting on behalf of his son." So...yeah. When we know more, we'll update.

Berkeley resident 60-year-old Hassan Bin Ali shot and killed himself on Monday night, leading to the discovery of an entombed body inside his Ashby Avenue residence. After police officers responded to a report of a heated argument going down at Ali's apartment -- and after his sudden suicide, which happened right in front of the cops at the scene -- remains of an unidentified body were found last night during a search. The macabre discovery is, of course, "being treated as suspicious."

The body of a dead lady was found outside an abortion clinic in San Jose this morning. According to reports, the woman was neither homeless nor killed at the site. Officers also made it a point of declaring that "the woman appeared not to have been killed, then dumped at the building." (Wait, what?) Maybe this is the latest form of nutty anti-abortion protest: Leave your body at the doorsteps of Planned Parenthood as a final act of lunacy? Strange. Anyway, a police officer on the scene went on to say that "Planned Parenthood has nothing to do with this .. It's just a pure coincidence."

A body was stuck in the Crunch Fitness/Academy of Art elevator on New Montgomerey over the weekend. Word is that the unidentified male or female died while trapped in the elevator.

We called Crunch on New Montgomerey this afternoon, and they confirmed that a body was, in fact, stuck in the elevator over the weekend, but wouldn't say whether or not he or she died. According to a reader, however, there was a medical examiners van parked outside today. They claim that it was a "dead body." Creepy

More info as it comes to us. (No MSM has picked up the story yet. If pressed, we'll be forced to go to Crunch Fitness -- something we promised we would never do.)

Update: Looks like it was, in fact, a dead body. And it was inside the elevator of the Sharon building. Cops and meds are still there as of 4:30 p.m.

Update II: The 5 o'clock news doesn't seem to be reporting it. At least it's not in their top-news-of-the-hour. Strange.

Update III: The body, found by a repair crew, was discovered at the bottom of the elevator shaft. "The unidentified victim apparently fell accidentally after summoning the elevator at 55 New Montgomery St. over the weekend," according to SFGate. The incident happened at 55 New Montgomery Street, not at the Academy of Art, which is just next door. (Though we're just sure the Academy is in on it. They're everywhere. They own SF.)

Just seconds ago we came across frantic police activity at Boss nightclub (on Harrison Street between Third and Fourth streets). Police informed us that they found a dead body, and declined to give any further details. We'll update you with more info as it comes in.

Update: According to the building security guard next door to Boss, three "homeless couples" who have been living outside of BOSS have been feuding. Apparently, a homeless woman was "beaten to death," according to the Gate. She was killed last night and her body was just discovered this morning. Allegedly.

The other couples who squatted in front of the nightclub are reportedly nowhere to be found either. Police are looking for all of them.