LOS ANGELES, CA – Investigators from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office and the Palos Verdes Estates Police Department (PVEPD) are working to identify human skeletal remains found at a beach in the area over the weekend.
The remains were discovered at Rat Beach, located in the 300 block of Paseo Del Mar, by a passerby who spotted what appeared to be a human skull along the low-tide waterline. Responding officers and detectives located additional skeletal remains near the site, according to a news release from the PVEPD.
Officials from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office later confirmed the remains were human.
The police department’s announcement prompted speculation on social media about a potential connection to the disappearance of Michael David Vanzandt, a 36-year-old Air Force veteran and father of three who vanished on March 5, 2016. Vanzandt was last seen on surveillance footage walking down Hermosa Beach Pier Plaza, about five miles from where the skeletal remains were recently found. His case remains unsolved more than eight years later.
“The PVEPD and the L.A. County Coroner’s Office are currently handling the investigation and working toward identification,” officials said in a statement.
Authorities have not yet determined the age, gender, or identity of the remains, nor have they provided information on the date or cause of death.
The investigation is ongoing, and officials are urging anyone with relevant information to come forward.
