After exhausting all other investigative avenues, the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office needs the public’s help identifying a person found at the Potranco Trail along Leon Creek nearly one year ago.
The person was discovered by a fisherman who found a human skull in a body of water near the Leon Creek Greenway North Park Trail on May 12, according to San Antonio police.
At the time of the discovery, KSAT reported police believed the skull belonged to a person experiencing homelessness who lived nearby and suspected “no foul play.”
The unidentified person found is described as a white or Hispanic person over 60 years old with upper dental implants, possibly done in Mexico, according to the medical examiner’s office. Officials released an artist rendering on April 15 asking if anyone recognizes the person.
San Antonio Police said the case was deemed a suicide. The manner of death is undetermined and an autopsy report is not available to the public until the person has been identified, according to the ME’s office.
Some say there has been an increase in homeless encampments in wooded areas along the city’s 100-plus mile trail system.
In recent months, several violent crimes including foul play have been reported on the train system from missing persons cases to unsolved homicides and arson. The San Antonio Police Department oversees the Park Police unit, which patrols and investigates crimes on local trails.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the homicide of Stacey Dramiga, a beloved health care worker whose body was found at Dafoste Park in September.
The death of 28-year-old Mariadelis Labrador Siles who went missing on the Northwest Side of San Antonio also remains under investigation. Her body was found by an overpass near Helotes Creek.
More unidentified victims
The medical examiner’s office says it is working on several cases to identify people whose remains have been found in the city. This means they are not able to identify the remains through fingerprints, DNA, dental/medical records, or visual identification.
After some time, the county lays the person to rest through its pauper burial program.
Another person that has not yet been identified is a white male between 40 and 60 years old, was found on a bridge over the San Antonio River near the Acequia Trail Park on May 29, 2021. He was 5’8” and weighed about 140 lbs. He had one tattoo of a flag, heart, and ribbon on his left upper arm.
Another unidentified white male between 30 and 60 years old was found in July 2019 in Tobin Park after someone saw vultures circling nearby and found a skull. He had a scorpion tattoo on his upper back. He was wearing a black T-shirt that had a picture of Jeff Hanneman from the band Slayer when he was found inside the downtown park.
Investigators also found a second decomposed body about 75 yards away from where that skull was located, near the park’s Oakwell Trailhead.
To read about more unidentified persons in Bexar County and across the U.S., visit the online database National Missing Unidentified Persons System (NamUs).
If you recognize or have information about any of these people, contact the investigative section of the Medical Examiner’s Office at 210-335-4011.
