CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Human remains found in Clearlake in late November have been determined to be those of a Hidden Valley Lake man reported missing the previous month, with police now investigating the case as a homicide.
Clearlake Police Sgt. Nick Bennett said the remains have been identified as 36-year-old Guillermo Figueroa, who was reported as a missing person from Hidden Valley Lake on Oct. 27.
Authorities said Figueroa, a husband and father of three, had been visiting a friend in Clearlake and telephoned his wife to say he was coming home but never arrived, as Lake County News has previously reported.
Clearlake Police officers later found an abandoned car registered in Figueroa’s name in the vicinity of Burns Valley Road. They also had pinged his cell phone and tracked it to a general area in Clearlake, but couldn't get an exact location at that time.
Just before 10:20 p.m. Nov. 28 Clearlake Police received a call from a resident on the 2700 block of Oleander Street reporting he had found a human skull in his yard, police reported.
During a search the following day a canine from the Contra Costa County-based California Rescue Dog Association discovered partial remains of a deceased person about 100 yards north of the residence where the skull had been found, according to the police report.
Bennett said autopsy and DNA results matched the skull and remains as belonging to the same person – Figueroa.
A joint investigation into Figueroa's disappearance has been ongoing between the Clearlake Police Department and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. Bennett said the case is now being investigated as a homicide.
Anyone with information in relation to this case is encouraged to contact Det. Tomas Riley at the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251, Extension 315.