A human skull found near Lake Hodges in San Diego's North County Friday may be the key investigators need to find answers in the unsolved death of a woman.
A group of environmentalists were doing brush eradication in an area near Lake Drive and Maple Lane at around 8:20 a.m. when they stumbled across the skull. A woman in the group called the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department (SDSO) to report their finding.
The SDSO reached out to the San Diego Police Department and the Escondido Police Department and the agencies converged at the scene. Officials laid out police tape and began scouring the brush. The search lasted several hours.
Eventually, homicide investigators were called to the scene.
At 1 p.m, a homicide sergeant confirmed to NBC 7 that what the passersby had found was, in fact, a human skull.
The sergeant said that last October, deputies found the partial human remains of a woman, later identified as 29-year-old Marisol Lopez, about a quarter-mile south.
Investigators believe this may be the skull of that woman.
Local
The San Diego County Medical Examiner's (ME) Office will collect the skull and work to identify the remains.
Lopez's skeletal remains were discovered on Oct. 17, 2015, near a walking path by the lake, close to the 19900 block of Lake Drive. In November, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department (SDSO) enlisted the help of the public to identify the mystery woman. Officials said she was found wearing a pair of shorts, a Padres athletic jersey and a distinctive ring.
Two months later, the ME's office was able to positively identify the remains as Lopez. However, the ME was not able to determine the cause or manner of Lopez's death.
SDSO Homicide Lt. Kenneth Nelson said Friday that investigators believe the skull is that of Lopez, as it's very unusual to find human remains in that area.
If the skull does belong to the woman, Nelson said the ME may finally be able to determine the cause of her death, shedding light on the mysterious case of Lopez's death, which to this day, remains unsolved.
"We've been following up on several leads from that, trying to identify who was last with her but unfortunately the case still remains unsolved at this time. It will definitely help if we are able to determine the cause and manner of death so we can determine which situation we're handling," Nelson said.
Lake Hodges is located just south of Escondido, approximately 32 miles north of downtown San Diego.
