Investigators said Monday that they don't believe a body found in a shallow grave this weekend along a creek in northwest Visalia is that of missing Hanford mother Debbie Hawk.
But a forensic dentist will double-check the findings today.
Visalia police don't know who the woman is, but they say she wore a distinctive ring on her left hand and they hope it will help identity her.
The body was discovered just before noon Saturday on the south bank of Mill Creek, a few hundred yards east of Akers Road and Willow Glen Elementary School, by a man who lives in the area. Officials believe it had been there for some time.
Visalia police are investigating the woman's death as a possible homicide. Sgt. Shawn Delaney declined to say if signs of trauma were found on the body or whether investigators know how the woman was killed.
A preliminary comparison of Hawk's dental records to the dead woman's showed the body didn't belong to the missing Hanford mother of three, according to a police statement released Monday.
Delaney said a forensic dentist is expected to confirm the results today. DNA samples were gathered to assist in the identification. The woman's body is described as being between 5 feet and 5 feet, 2 inches tall -- similar to Hawk's stature.
Hawk, 46, was declared missing in June after her children found her Hanford home ransacked and bloody. Police later declared Hawk's case a homicide investigation.
In October, Hanford police investigators named Hawk's former husband, Dave Hawk, as the prime suspect in her disappearance. Yet police have not arrested him and prosecutors have not filed charges against anyone in the case.
On Monday, a Hanford police detective brought Hawk's dental records to the autopsy to assist in identifying the body, Hanford Lt. Darrell Smith said.
He declined to comment Monday on the autopsy results, saying Hanford officials will wait until the forensic dentist finishes the examination.
Smith said recovering Hawk's body would be helpful, but not necessary, to prosecuting someone for her murder.
"The benefit of having a body is the possibility of getting physical evidence from it and from the area where it was found," Smith said. "It also provides closure to the family."
Calls Monday to friends of Debbie Hawk were not returned, but they have told The Bee that they will continue to keep Hawk's memory alive until she is found.
Now that Hawk has likely been ruled out in this recent discovery, Visalia police said they are focussing their efforts to identify the woman.
She was wearing a ring -- possibly a wedding ring -- on her left hand that had a large diamond or other stone in the middle with five smaller diamond insets on each side of it, police revealed.
Delaney said detectives will go over local reports of missing persons and will look through computerized records of missing people nationwide to try to identify the dead woman.
The body was found in a shallow grave along the creek. A man who lives near the site said the body was found in one of several holes dug by his neighbor a few years ago as cover for paintball games.
Anyone with information on the dead woman is urged to call detective Curtis Brown at (559) 713-4725 or Sgt. Allyn Wightman at (559) 713-4234.
The reporter can be reached at tbragg@fresnobee.com or (559) 622-2417.
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