According to Lt. Greg van Patten, with the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office, the Human Identification Lab at Chico State University has finished its physical examination of the unidentified body recently found on the banks of the Eel River near Piercy. More information should be released to the public this week, possibly including the victim's gender and ethnicity.

The discovery of the remains was reported to law enforcement in late October when a local family discovered that a shoe which had been sticking out of the ground for several years was still attached to a human foot.

Back in November, Lt. van Patten told the Redwood Times that the reporting party indicated the shoe had been sticking out of the riverbank for at least three years - and it may have been there long before that. This open-ended timeframe means that law enforcement has to consider cases dating back several decades.

Due to the crime scene's proximity to the county line, van Patten believes the victim could be from either Humboldt or Mendocino. It's also possible that the victim may have been passing through from other jurisdictions - potentially making it even more difficult to determine his or her identity.