Transient’s Body Found Buried In Collapsed Tunnel
Riverside County Sheriff’s investigators found the body of a transient on Friday who had sought shelter in a makeshift underground tunnel that collapsed.
The search began last Saturday, said Sgt. Andrew Nielsen, about a quarter-mile east of Harry Oliver Tr. in Thousand Palms when a friend of the deceased reported the man missing at the local fire station.
She said her friend had created a makeshift underground dwelling under a sand dune in the open desert, and when she went to check on him, she saw the dirt above the dune had collapsed.
She had searched for several hours before coming to the fire department.
Cal Fire responded to the location at about 8:46 pm on Feb. 12 and removed several hundreds of pounds dirt and dug into the tunnel. They stopped their search after about four hours, believing the missing person was not in the collapsed dwelling.
Deputies with the Riverside County Sheriff?s Department continued to search for the transient over the course of the next several days, said Nielsen. After he had not been located, and had not returned to the area or to his vehicle at the scene, investigators from the Palm Desert Sheriff?s Station searched the collapsed hole again on Friday.
The Sheriff?s Emergency Response Team brought in heavy earth moving equipment and a canine team from the Riverside County Search Dogs.
The search began at 8 a.m., and eventually, a search dog trained in the detection of deceased bodies alerted the handler to the presence of a body.
The area was excavated until the body of a deceased male was discovered approximately 12-15 feet under grade level.
Saturday morning, the Riverside County Coroner’s Office identified Steven James Morgan, 30, as the victim.
Sgt. Nielsen said there were no signs of foul play, and the death is being investigated as an accidental death.
The Riverside County Sheriff?s Search and Rescue Unit is a volunteer-based function of the Sheriff’s Department. Anyone interested in volunteering in the search and rescue unit is encouraged to contact the Sheriff’s Department by phone or via the sheriff?s department website.
