Mount Williamson California decades old human remains discovered

[WilliamBoyd]

When I saw this story in the news it brought back memories of when I was an active California Sierra Nevada hiker and climber in the 1970s and 1980s. I climbed Mt. Williamson three times during that period. Mt. Williamson at 14,379' is the second highest mountain in California and is visible from much of Highway 395.

Mt. Williamson

On October 7, 2019, two hikers climbing Mount Williamson, discovered human remains near the far side of the "Williamson Bowl". The Inyo County Sheriff’s Office was contacted. Due to the remote location and difficult terrain, aerial support was required to transport a Sheriff’s Office Investigator.

News article:
https://www.sierrawave.net/decades-old-human-remains-discovered-on-mount-williamson

The Inyo County Sheriff’s Office does not have any missing persons reports connected to this location, and based on the condition of the remains, it is believed that the body may have been in this area for quite some time – perhaps decades.

"This is a huge mystery to us," said Inyo County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Carma Roper, since they’ve gone back through decades of missing persons reports from the Inyo National Forest with no matches.

For what it's worth, here is a possible historical clue:

The World War II Manzanar Japanese Internment Camp was located to the east of Mt. Williamson.

Manzanar camp gate with historic marker

A Sierra Club trip leader told me in the 1980's that during World War II Japanese inmates of the Manzanar Camp would sometimes take deceased inmates and bury them in the Mt. Williamson area which was behind the camp.

 

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[Nevada Prospector]

Thanks for the interesting story. If it is true then he had dedicated friends or relatives.

 

[WilliamBoyd]

Today's news story:

Bones may be those of Japanese American from internment camp
https://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/APNewsBreak-Bones-may-be-remains-of-lost-14556628.php

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) — In the closing days of World War II, a Japanese American set out with other men from the infamous internment camp at Manzanar on a trip to the mountains, where he went off on his own to paint a watercolor and got caught in a freak summer snowstorm.

A hiker found Giichi Matsumura's body weeks later, and he was laid to rest in a spot marked only by a small pile of granite slabs.

Over the years, as the little-known story faded along with memories, the location of Matsumura's remote burial place was lost to time, and he became a sort of ghost of Manzanar, the subject of searches, rumors and legends.

Now, 74 years later, his skeleton may have finally been found.

The Inyo County sheriff's office told The Associated Press it is investigating the possibility that a set of bleached bones discovered earlier this month in the rugged Sierra Nevada is Matsumura's.

 

[A2coins]

Wow awesome read that's really cool

 

[A2coins]

Not for them anyway

 

[WilliamBoyd]

Skeleton identified as Manzanar Japanese American artist

A skeleton found by hikers this fall near California's second-highest peak was identified Friday as a Japanese American artist who had left the Manzanar internment camp to paint in the mountains in the waning days of World War II.
The Inyo County sheriff used DNA to identify the remains of Giichi Matsumura, who succumbed to the elements during a freak summer snow storm during a hiking trip with other members of the camp.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/apnewsbreak-california-skeleton-idd-japanese-internee-68055912

Giichi Matsumura, RIP

 

[RustyGold]

Interesting story. Glad they may have discovered his remains. RIP.