California skeleton mystery

A human skeleton retrieved from California’s second-highest mountain, Mount Williamson, in October 2019, may be the remains of Giichi Matsumura, a Japanese-American man who died in 1945 as part of a fishing party from the Manzanar internment camp. The Inyo County Sheriff’s Department says that is among the possibilities being investigated after the bones were discovered Oct. 7 by two hikers.

Section:Gallery

Wed., Oct. 23, 2019

In this Oct. 16, 2019, photo released by the California Highway Patrol, their H-80 helicopter sits near where a human skeleton was discovered on Mount Williamson. The human skeleton may be the remains of a Japanese-American man who died in 1945 as part of a fishing party from the Manzanar internment camp. The Inyo County Sheriff's Department says that is among the possibilities being investigated after the bones were discovered Oct. 7, 2019, by two hikers.

California Highway Patrol Associated Press
This undated photo provided by the Inyo County Sheriff's Department shows 6th lake below Mount Williamson where authorities say the skeletal remains of a person were discovered on Oct. 7, 2019 beneath the state's second-highest peak. The body was discovered by climbers last week who saw what appeared to be a bone beneath boulders. High winds prevented a helicopter from retrieving the body until Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019, Roper says the body may have been there for decades based on its condition.

Inyo Sheriff'S Department Associated Press
This photo taken Oct. 22, 2019, shows a gravestone in Woodlawn Cemetery in Santa Monica, Calif., that marks the death of Giichi Matsumura, who died in the Sierra Nevada on a fishing trip while he was at the Japanese internment camp at Manzanar. Investigators in Inyo County are investigating whether a skeleton recently found near Mount Williamson is that of Matsumura, who was buried there in September 1945. The gravesite wasn’t mapped, so his final resting place has been a mystery that for years has captivated hikers who searched fruitlessly for Matsumara’s remains.

Brian Melley Associated Press
In this photo taken Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019, Joan Busby, and her husband, Bill, pose at their home in Mill Valley, Calif. In 1945, Joan Busby's mother, Mary DeDecker spotted a branch among a jumble of rocks near Mount Williamson where she found the body of Giichi Matsumura. A burial party from Manzanar internment camp ascended the mountain, located the body, buried it and left a small pile of granite slabs to mark the grave. The Inyo County sheriff’s office told The Associated Press it is investigating the possibility that the bones found in October 2019 are those of Matsumura. The gravesite wasn’t mapped, so his final resting place has been a mystery that for years has captivated hikers who searched fruitlessly for Matsumara’s remains.

Eric Risberg Associated Press
In this photo taken Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019, Joan Busby looks at a transparency of where her mother found human remains in 1945 of Giichi Matsumura on Mount Williamson, at her home in Mill Valley, Calif. A burial party from Manzanar internment camp ascended the mountain, located the body, buried it and left a small pile of granite slabs to mark the grave. The Inyo County sheriff’s office told The Associated Press it is investigating the possibility that the bones found in October 2019 are those of Matsumura. The gravesite wasn’t mapped, so his final resting place has been a mystery that for years has captivated hikers who searched fruitlessly for Matsumara’s remains.

Eric Risberg Associated Press
In this selfie shot taken Oct. 7, 2019, Brandon Follin, left, and Tyler Hofer, right, stand atop Mount Williamson, California's second-highest peak. Earlier that day, the two had discovered a human skeleton buried in the rocks below the summit. Inyo County investigators are trying to identify the bones and, among other possibilities are looking into whether they are the remains of Giichi Matsumura, a Japanese man who was buried there in September 1945 after dying on fishing trip while he was incarcerated at the nearby Manzanar internment camp. The gravesite wasn’t mapped, so his final resting place has been a mystery that for years has captivated hikers who searched fruitlessly for Matsumara’s remains.

Brandon Follin Associated Press
In this May 23, 1943, photo, an American soldier guards a Japanese internment camp at Manzanar, Calif. A human skeleton retrieved from California’s second-highest mountain, Mount Williamson, in October 2019, may be the remains of a Japanese-American man who died in 1945 as part of a fishing party from the Manzanar internment camp. The Inyo County Sheriff’s Department says that is among the possibilities being investigated after the bones were discovered Oct. 7 by two hikers.