Decades-old human remains found in orchard near Raisin City

The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office is working to identify human remains that were found Friday inside a pair of pants at an orchard near Manning and Westlawn avenues, west of Raisin City.

A worker doing irrigation work on the recently replanted property found the remains and called the sheriff’s office, said spokesman Tony Botti. Homicide detectives and about 30 search and rescue team members conducted a search of the 80-acre property.

The team found some skeletal remains that appear to be animal bones, but they will be evaluated to see if any are human, Botti said.

A local anthropologist is analyzing the human remains found earlier to determine gender, age, race, height and weight. Detectives found coins dated between 1965 and 1979 in the pants pockets leading them to believe that the body could have been buried for as long as 36 years, Botti said.

A watch and key chain were also found. The key chain appears to have a Chevrolet logo on it. The face of the watch says Longine Electra 25.

The Department of Justice has a file of more than 1,400 people who have been reported missing in Fresno County, Botti said. Detectives will use the list in their investigation.

Anyone who may be able to identify the items and who they belong to is asked to call detective Matt Hamilton at (559) 600-8210 or Crime Stoppers at (559) 498-7867.

This story was originally published May 22, 2015 at 5:10 PM with the headline "Decades-old human remains found in orchard near Raisin City."