The human skull found near Lake Hodges in early October has been identified as the skull of Marisol Lopez, a 29-year-old woman whose partial remains were found in the same area last October.
The cause of the woman’s death is still unknown, and the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s (ME) Office says that the skull could lead to answers.
A group of environmentalists discovered the skull on October 7 near Lake Drive and Maple Lane, about a quarter mile north of the spot San Diego County Sheriff’s (SDSO) deputies found Lopez’s partial remains on Oct. 17, 2015.
"We've been following up on several leads from that, trying to identify who was last with her but unfortunately the case still remains unsolved at this time,” SDSO Homicide Lt. Kenneth Nelson said the day the skull was found. “It will definitely help if we are able to determine the cause and manner of death so we can determine which situation we're handling.”
According to an ME report, examiners estimated that the remains were found about a month after Lopez had died.
