CA CA - Mecca, Wht/HispMale UP7204, 20-25, in the All-American Canal, Oct'75

Ambercat

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Unidentified White or Hispanic Male​

Found floating in the All American Canal, an irrigation canal, in Mecca, CA (Riverside County) on October 4, 1975 at 14:13. It is believed that he had been dead three days to one week prior to being found.

Cause of death is homicide

http://www.riversidesheriff.org/coroner/unidentified/1975-5748.asp
Doe Network Hot Case 1281 http://www.doenetwork.org/hot/hotcase1281.html
https://identifyus.org/en/cases/7204

Vital Statistics

Estimated age: 20 - 25 years old (Riverside County Coroner/Sheriff and Doe Network), 18 – 25 (NamUs)
Approximate Height and Weight: 6'0"; 185 lbs
Hair / Eyes: His hair was dark brown with unknown eye color.
Hair Length: The hair was of medium length.
Clothing: He was found wearing blue denim Levis pants and a white T-shirt. His pockets were empty. No shoes, jewelry or identification was found.
His dental chart is shown on the Riverside County Coroner/Sheriff page.

Circumstances

The victim was located floating in the All American Canal, an irrigation canal, in Mecca, CA. He died from a blow to his head then placed in the water with a rope around his neck attached to a piece of iron for a weight. The canal is controlled by a series of gates and the distance to the last gate was about eight miles, within the rural Mecca area.
 
What is in this place Mecca .I don't know why but for some reason this Mecca sounds so familliar like i have been hearing it lately about something to do with this mecca .Could be nothing But anybody else recall something else happening in this city I don't even know when or what just that i have heard about this mecca over the last week or so but i cant remember what about it that was said .
 
I was wondering if this could possibly be Alan Wayne Soper? He was in California when his parents last heard from him and his height, weight, and vital statistics are all consistent with the UID. It's about 160 miles from Mecca, CA to Needles, CA (where Alan Soper' s clothes and wallet was found on June 8, 1977).

AWSoper.jpg
ASoper1.jpg

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1531dmok.html
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/soper_alan.html
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/7770/42/
 
What is in this place Mecca .I don't know why but for some reason this Mecca sounds so familliar like i have been hearing it lately about something to do with this mecca .Could be nothing But anybody else recall something else happening in this city I don't even know when or what just that i have heard about this mecca over the last week or so but i cant remember what about it that was said .

I remember hearing something, too, about Mecca, California (not the city in Saudi Arabia) in the news awhile back, but I can't remember 100%. It think it might have had something to do with farmers from Latin America living there.

This is the link to the city on Wikipedia -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecca,_California

It gets really hot there in the summer. Even in October, when this IUD was found, the average high temperature is about 93 F. That would probably speed up decomposition (?).
 
WoW Ambercat that is a great find Good Job . If Thats not the same guy in both pics I would be shocked The chin and nose are a stand out kinda feature on its own .The nose which looks to me like its been brocken before maybe I think you found a match ..
 
It is Alan Soper in both photos, isn't it? There is no sketch of the UID on any of the sites that I can see...?
 
It is Alan Soper in both photos, isn't it? There is no sketch of the UID on any of the sites that I can see...?

There both Alan Soper. There is no sketch of the UID -- the Riverside County website said that he was not recognizable when he was taken out of the water. I'm sorry if I was confusing in my post.
 
What is in this place Mecca .I don't know why but for some reason this Mecca sounds so familliar like i have been hearing it lately about something to do with this mecca .Could be nothing But anybody else recall something else happening in this city I don't even know when or what just that i have heard about this mecca over the last week or so but i cant remember what about it that was said .

I think I must have been tired when I originally responded to your post, but before starting the new thread about the man found in the All American Canal, I suggested that an unidentified young man found in Mecca, CA in 1983 could have been the "MC Plants" notation on serial killer Randy Kraft's list.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=119731&page=5
http://www.riversidesheriff.org/coroner/unidentified/1983-2344.asp

Recently, there were "overwhelming odor outbreaks" there which was in the news and made people sick.http://www.mydesert.com/article/20120120/NEWS01/201200326/Pending-air-quality-pact-unprecedented-?odyssey=nav|head
http://www.kmir6.com/news/local/137740333.html
I thought I had heard something else about that city being in the news recently, but maybe it was longer ago than I thought or maybe I am just mistaken. :waitasec:
 
Until this January when I drove through on Interstate 10 (moving from California to Florida), I really didn’t realize how far Mecca, CA is from the Los Angeles-Orange County Metro area.
mecca29palms_zps20856da3.jpg

I doubt someone would commute that far to dump a body, but I guess I could be wrong. It is also very close to the border with Arizona. I could definitely see crossing the state line to dump a body so that [especially in 1975] they wouldn’t be identified as quickly. I wonder if that is where the man came from. It’s also not that far from the Mexican border, so I guess it is possible that is where he is from. He had some dental work done (it looks like a few fillings from the Riverside County Coroner website); I’m not sure if it is possible to determine which side of the border it was on.

More information about the All American Canal –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-American_Canal
 
“0 Missing Person Exclusions” per NamUs

Date of Discovery: October 4, 1975
Location of Discovery: Mecca, Riverside County, California
Estimated Date of Death: 3-7 days prior.
State of Remains: Unknown
Cause of Death: Head injury


Physical Description

Estimated Age: 18-25 years old
Race: White/Hispanic
Sex: Male
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 185 lbs.
Hair Color: Dark brown, medium length hair
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: No scars, tattoos or disfigurements were found due to condition of the body from the water exposure.


Identifiers

Dentals: Available
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Unknown


Clothing & Personal Items

Clothing: Blue denim pants and a white T-shirt. No shoes found.
Jewelry: No jewelry found.
Additional Personal Items: No identification found.


Circumstances of Discovery

The victim was located floating in the All American Canal, an irrigation canal, in Mecca, CA, fully clothed. He died from a blow to his head and was then placed in the water with a rope around his neck, attached to a piece of iron for a weight. The canal is controlled by a series of gates and the distance to the last gate was about eight miles, within the rural Mecca area.

Investigating Agency(s)

Agency Name: Riverside County Coroner
Agency Phone Number: 951-443-2300
Agency Case Number: 35748


NCIC Case Number: Unknown
NamUs Case Number: UP7204
Former Hot Case Number: 1281


Information Source(s)

Riverside County Coroner's Office
NamUs
 

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