Hikers Find Human Head In LA's Hollywood Hills

Published January 18, 2012 5:45AM (EST)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hikers in the Hollywood Hills found a human head in a plastic bag Tuesday when two of their dogs began playing with the object, Los Angeles police said

The women made the discovery on a popular trail below the Hollywood sign at about 3:45 p.m., police said.

"Two of the dogs began to play with the bag and what appeared to be an object. While the dogs were playing with it, at some point the object came out of the bag and they discovered that it was a head — a severed head," Sgt. Mitzi Fierro told KCAL-TV. The bag was visible from the trail, she said.

The head was believed to be a male, Fierro said, and didn't appear to have been in the area for long.

"There's not a lot of signs of decomposition yet," she said.

The women who discovered the bag work as dog walkers and had about nine dogs with them at the time, Officer Karen Rayner said.

Investigators hopefully will come up with a sketch of the victim in order to identify who he is, Fierro said. Coroner's investigators also will attempt to identify the victim through dental records.

Police were guarding the crime scene overnight, with detectives set to resume searching for possible additional human remains and other clues after sunrise Wednesday.


By Salon Staff

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