PLEASANTON — A body found stuffed in a trash can in Pleasanton Thursday is a woman, but is not believed to be Sierra LaMar, the 15-year-old missing teen from Morgan Hill.
"There are a lot of rumors floating around, but what I can say is that this is not the body of a child," said Lt. Jeff Bretzing of the Pleasanton Police Department.
"That's as close to age as I can get."
And police confirmed Thursday night that the victim is female.
The Contra Costa Times is reporting that the homicide victim is a woman with long hair and painted nails, and based on decomposition and age, it is likely not LaMar, sources said. This shoots down speculation taking place on Thursday afternoon that the cases were related.
Police discovered the body around 11 a.m. Thursday after a caller reported that a 45-gallon trash can looked suspicious sitting out in the middle of Dublin Canyon Road.
The Alameda County coroner's bureau planned to perform an autopsy on
the body Friday morning, coroner's officials said.
Onlookers on Thursday saw what appeared to be a body shrouded in a white sheet being removed by the coroner's office around 3 p.m.
The body, which looked to be that of an adult, was wheeled on a gurney into a van.
shut down part of Dublin Canyon Road while they processed the scene. The Alameda County Sheriff's Department crime lab was at the scene, which was at Laurel Creek Drive and Dublin Canyon Road near The Preserve, a neighborhood in the west part of the city. The trash can was in front of a bank of trees on Dublin Canyon; further back is a single house with a horse corral.
The area teemed with media crews late Thursday afternoon — several television news vans camped in the area while at least three news helicopters buzzed loudly overhead.
Lt. Jeff Bretzing of Pleasanton Police said Thursday said no other agencies are involved with the investigation — just Pleasanton police and Alameda County agencies so far.
Reporters specifically asked if the Morgan Hill Police Department or Santa Clara County Sheriff were involved. But Bretzing said no.
The trash can, which was turned over on the roadway and visible from behind the police tape, did not look to be the same type of city-issued trash bin residents in the area use.
Police descended on the area of the 11000 block of Dublin Canyon Road around 11 a.m. after the caller said the trash can looked out of place.
"We investigate everything in Pleasanton," Bretzing said.
Anyone with information about the case has been asked to call
Pleasanton police at (925) 931-5100.
Bay City News contributed to this report.
Reach Patch Editor Tanya Rose at tanya.rose@patch.com
Follow Pleasanton Patch on Facebook or on Twitter for the latest news.
