Remains found in shallow grave identified after nearly 50 years

MOHAVE COUNTY, Ariz. — Authorities have identified remains found nearly 50 years ago in a shallow grave near the Arizona-Nevada border, the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday.

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Hikers found the grave on Nov. 23, 1976, in the desert near Katherine’s Landing, according to the sheriff’s office. Investigators determined that the victim was a man who had been shot in the head at close range. They took fingerprints but were unable to match them with a person.

On Tuesday, deputies announced that the man had been identified as Luis Alonso Paredes.

Authorities believe Paredes, who was from El Salvador, might have been living or working in the Las Vegas area before his death. They added that he might have worked with the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy in the San Francisco Bay area about a decade earlier.

Paredes was identified after investigators compared the fingerprints taken in 1976 with national records that had not been available at the time of his death, officials said.

Additional details about the circumstances leading to Paredes’ death were not immediately available. Authorities said they have not been able to find any of Paredes’ relatives.

Deputies asked that anyone with information on the case contact the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office Detective Division at 928-753-0753 ext. 4288, and reference DR# 76-5053.