Man found dead inside missing man's vehicle
Aug. 25—According to the California Highway Patrol Yuba-Sutter office, a Brownsville man was found dead inside his vehicle on Wednesday in the foothills area of Yuba County.
Officials with the CHP said officers were called at about 2 p.m. to Willow Glen Road south of Pine Ridge Road to assist the Yuba County Sheriff's Department with a vehicle collision that one of their deputies located. When officers arrived, they found a deceased male driver. That driver, who was not named, was identified as a 58-year-old Brownsville man who was driving a 2004 gray Ford Ranger.
The Yuba County Sheriff's Office, who were not able to officially identify the deceased man, said its investigations unit had been conducting a search in the Brownsville area for Joseph Kearns, a 58-year-old man who had been missing since July 6.
"During the search Kearns' vehicle was located off a steep embankment and overturned near Willow Glen Road in Brownsville in some dense foliage," the Yuba County Sheriff's Office said in a statement late Wednesday. "The vehicle was not visible by either the roadway or the air, and was located by detectives while on foot checking a ravine. The remains of a deceased subject were located inside the vehicle; however, the identity of the deceased is unknown at this point."
CHP officials also said the vehicle was not visible from the roadway and was about 20 feet below the road surface. A Yuba County coroner was called to the scene and the man was transported to a local mortuary.
The Yuba County Sheriff's Office said Kearns' family members were notified of the findings.
The Yuba County coroner will release the name of the driver after proper identification protocols are followed and a notification to next of kin is made, officials said.
