Sheriff’s deputies are investigating a body found with a gunshot
wound in a rural area southwest of Morgan Hill early this
morning.
Sheriff’s deputies are investigating a body found with a gunshot wound in a rural area southwest of Morgan Hill early this morning.
Authorities received a call about 1:40 a.m. Friday from a witness who discovered the body, Sgt. Rick Sung of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office said. The body was found in the area of Sheila Avenue and Prom Drive, in an unincorporated area.
The body belonged to an unidentified male adult, according to Sung. The man had suffered at least one gunshot wound, but Sung did not say to what part of the body.
The man’s identity and approximate age have not been released, and authorities from the sheriff’s office and Santa Clara County Coroner’s office are still investigating, Sung said. The man’s name will not be revealed until the coroner notifies his next of kin that he is dead.
Detectives were still at the scene collecting evidence Friday afternoon, Sung added.
Authorities also did not know the man’s race as of Friday afternoon, and declined to say if the man died where he was found or if the body was transported to the area and dropped off.
Sung also added he does not know if the gunshot wound or wounds caused the man’s death.
“We are still treating this as a suspicious death,” Sung said.
Due to the darkness of the early morning, plus foggy, damp weather, detectives were unable to begin investigating the scene until about 10 a.m., Sung said.
The area where the body was found is rugged and hilly, covered in heavy shrubbery and other vegetation, and is sparsely populated, Sung said. The body was found several hundred yards off a private road, below a ridge atop which sits a single home.
“The private road is a dead end, and there’s only one house up there,” Sung said. “You either have to hike (in) or bring a 4×4.”
Sung did not know how the witness who called police found the body, and did not know the possible relationship between the dead person and the witness.
Furthermore, no information currently indicates the dead man was known by or had a relationship with the residents of the home, Sung said.
