SONORA, Calif. — Officials are investigating the death of a man whose remains were found in the Washington Fire burn scar last year.
The Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office is investigating after being called to the area of Golden Dove Lane for reports of human remains.
The investigation into the remains determined they were there before the fire started in Aug. 2021. Detectives reached out to the Chico State University Anthropology Division to identify the remains, but ultimately announced in July they were unable to due to thermal damage from the fire.
The remains were then taken to the Department of Justice Lab for additional DNA analysis.
In November, the Department of Justice identified the man as Robert Frank Baiko of Sonora. A next of kin has been notified and an investigation is ongoing.
Officials are seeking the public’s help and asking anyone with information to call investigators at (209) 533-5815.
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