Human remains in Monterey County identified as man missing since 2013
By Jacquelyn Quinones
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CARMEL VALLEY, California (KSBW) — Human remains discovered near Viejo Road in unincorporated Monterey County last December have been identified as Corey Allen Ringer, a California man who had been missing since 2013.
The case began when a land surveyor found what appeared to be a human skull. Deputies confirmed the discovery and spent days searching the area, recovering additional skeletal remains.
“The remains were eventually sent off to the California Department of Justice laboratory for DNA testing, and those results did come back with a positive identification. The human remains were identified as belonging to Corey Allen Ringer,” Monterey County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Andres Rosas said.
Ringer was last seen in 2012, but family members did not report him missing until early 2013. Investigators believe he was about 56 years old at the time of his death.
“In this particular case, during the forensics and anthropologic examination, they were not able to determine a cause or manner of death,” Rosas said.
The sheriff’s office explained that investigations like this can take years, as forensic testing and identification efforts often require extensive lab work to determine who the person was and, when possible, how they died.
“The Department of Justice is the one lab for the entire state of California. Monterey County and the sheriff’s office are not the only agencies that have remains or articles of property that have to be identified through the DNA process,” Rosas said.
“What it comes down to is whether or not somebody’s sample of DNA is in a database that can be compared to that of the human remains that were located, and there are occasions where that’s not the case,” Rosas said.
The sheriff’s office is encouraging the public to report missing loved ones if they have not had contact with them and are concerned about their whereabouts.
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