As the nation continues to struggle with an opioid crisis now supercharged by fentanyl, overdoses have become one of the leading causes of workplace deaths.

California is no different: Workplace overdose deaths have risen so dramatically that in 2021 and 2022, they caused more fatalities than falls at construction sites or being hit by machinery, and in 2022 were second only to car crashes and other transportation incidents.

That year, the toll surpassed 110 workers, accounting for 18% of the state’s workplace deaths, compared to 11% nationwide.

Federal and state government experts have raised the alarm over this trend, which has puzzled some policymakers because drug use is not a hazard created directly by the job. After all, those who die of an overdose at work represent a small share of thousands of Californians who overdose each year.

Still, business owners and union officials alike are increasingly having to grapple with one of the nation’s most prominent public health challenges.

“When fentanyl came around, we started having a huge uptick in overdoses and deaths — even suicides,” said Paul Moreno, president of Ironworkers Local 433 in Southern California.

In 2022, his local began holding recovery meetings for members that now draw as many as a dozen attendees a month. Moreno, who said he’s been sober 19 years, visits worksites and the union hall passing around the 988 mental health crisis hotline number, giving out his own personal phone number and distributing doses of the overdose reversal drug naloxone (commonly sold as Narcan).

“I took Narcan classes, I passed out Narcan on the job sites. I never thought I’d be doing that,” he said. “The phone calls from the members, sometimes I don’t know what to say, besides listen. We still need more training.”

A new California law directs the state’s workplace safety agencies to require worksites to stock Narcan in their first aid kits, but the regulations haven’t been issued yet. A spokesperson said Cal/OSHA is “in the early stages of rulemaking,” a process that could take years.

Not much is publicly known about overdose deaths at California worksites. A small office in Cal/OSHA that compiles workplace fatality data has for at least the past two years noted the rise in overdoses in its annual reports. But the office says it cannot release details due to privacy restrictions.

The agency has not responded to a public records request CalMatters filed in September for all overdose incidents, fatal or nonfatal, that have been reported at worksites.

State won’t release details on deaths

County coroners’ offices, which investigate some deaths, vary widely in whether they can identify incidents based on whether a person died at their job. Death records from the past three years obtained from Alameda, San Bernardino and Riverside counties provide glimpses into the grim trend.

In 2021, a flooring installer stepped out for a smoke break at a construction site in Temecula, and was found by coworkers on the side of the house, dead from a fentanyl overdose. A packing plant worker in Corona went to the bathroom and did not return; coworkers found him bent over with a straw, lighter and piece of foil nearby, having overdosed on methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin. In Fremont, a manager found a night-shift janitor in the bathroom with a white powdery substance, overdosed on fentanyl. In Livermore this year, a driver was found in his parked semi-truck as he waited to make a scheduled delivery, also dead from fentanyl.

First: Narcan nasal spray containers available at a rally at the First Street U.S. Courthouse in Los Angeles on April 22, 2024. Photo by Ted Soqui for CalMatters Last: Housing construction in a neighborhood in Elk Grove on July 8, 2022. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters

California officials have little to say about the rising death toll. Cal/OSHA refused to make an official available for an interview and would not explain why overdoses account for a much higher share of the state’s workplace deaths compared to the rest of the nation.

Instead, the agency cited the broader national opioid crisis. “California had more than 7,000 people die from opioid-related overdose deaths in 2022,” spokesperson Erika Monterroza wrote in an email. “Unfortunately, these deaths happen all over our state, including in our workplaces.”

The state Department of Public Health says it is considering a study. That agency’s occupational health branch is “aware of this issue and is considering a project to examine all opioid overdoses by industry and occupation,” a spokesperson said. In October, the department said staff are in the “initial stages of preparing for an analysis” but did not provide a completion date.

Studies in other states indicate the problem is worse in certain industries. In Massachusetts, where overdoses are the top cause of workplace deaths, researchers with the state public health agency examined all overdoses deaths — whether at work or not — and found deaths occurred disproportionately among those working in manual-labor, high-injury industries.

Those jobs, said Emily Sparer-Fine, director of the Massachusetts public health agency’s Occupational Health Surveillance Program, are often seasonal or unstable, and workers may be financially strained and pressured to work through pain.

“Certain industries and occupations, (such as) construction, fishing, had a much higher rate of overdose,” Sparer-Fine said in an interview. “But it was also jobs that had lower access to paid sick leave, higher rates of job insecurity, higher rates of overall workplace injury.”

In a new study this year, Sparer-Fine’s team also dug into workers’ compensation data and found working-age Massachusetts residents were 35% more likely to have died of an overdose if they were previously injured on the job.

Workers in similar industries are overrepresented in the California workplace overdose deaths, including in trucking and warehousing, according to federal data.

So are workers in construction, where unions and employers are confronting a mental health and addiction crisis. Nationwide, construction workers are more likely than workers in any other profession to overdose, and also have one of the highest rates of suicide.

Chris Trahan Cain, executive director of the national Center for Construction Research and Training, has since 2018 led the response to the industry’s opioid crisis. She has focused on a longtime reliance on painkillers to deal with injuries involving the muscles and bones, which nearly a third of construction workers report experiencing. Studies like the ones in Massachusetts were among the first to reveal the toll.

The center, formed by the nation’s construction unions, has recommended stocking naloxone in union halls, requiring apprentices be taught about opioid abuse and ensuring members have coverage of drug treatment programs. They’re also providing tips on talking to doctors about how to treat injuries without long-term opioids prescriptions. The goal, Cain said, is to avoid blaming individual workers.

“When this information first came to light, what I heard was, ‘Oh, it’s just the macho culture, it’s the type of people who go into construction,’” she said. “We can’t tell you how many of these deaths are because somebody started on a prescription, but we know that some of them are. We know a lot of these deaths are also from illicit drug use that have nothing to do with workplaces, but where we can (make) changes as an industry to impact these numbers, is what we’re trying to do.”

Businesses respond to crisis

Employers, too, are trying to break the stigma for seeking help. Since 2021, the Associated General Contractors of California has provided materials to hold jobsite meetings about mental health.

Not all employers know how to raise the issue and some fear reprisal for appearing to pry into employees’ personal lives, said Frank Nunes, CEO of the Wall and Ceiling Alliance, a Northern California specialty contractors’ group. Some, Nunes said, are advised by attorneys to avoid talking about it.

“It’s still very sensitive,” he said. “You’ve got to be very careful how you ask somebody how (they’re) doing and not offend them.”

Still, Nunes joined officials of District Council 16 of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades at a recovery event in San Leandro in October, promoting treatment programs covered by their contracts and encouraging workers to use them.

“We have to address these things in the field,” he told about 100 union members. “There’s a cultural change we all need to work on.”

In a cavernous training hall where apprentices learn how to install drywall, union members told their peers how they had recovered from addiction. The union invited former Raiders tight end Darren Waller to talk about his own experiences with addiction and depression.

Reflecting on union officials’ numbers on construction worker deaths by overdose or suicide, Waller told the crowd: “Those are lives that still deserve to be among us.”

Robert Williams, the local’s business manager and secretary-treasurer, described what he called a familiar scenario: A worker experiences a jobsite injury or persistent soreness, feels pressure to work through it, then escalates from an over-the-counter pill to a prescription painkiller to an illicit opioid addiction.

“We’re only with our families a small portion of the day,” he said. “The people we work with, we’re with 80% of the time. We’ve got to be open on those job sites.”

Robert Williams, left, business manager and secretary-treasurer, and James Boster, right, director of mental health and addiction, with District Council 16 of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, at their union office in Livermore on Nov. 6, 2024. Photo by Laure Andrillon for CalMatters

The union and local employers realized they had a problem on their hands last summer. After sifting through their health plan records, they found 91 members had died of overdose or suicide (not necessarily at work) in 18 months.

The revelation forced union officials to rethink their roles in workers’ lives, Williams said in an interview.

“We look out for safety on the jobs, so if there’s a death on a job site because of a safety hazard, it’s front-page news,” he said. “But if there’s death by an overdose or death by suicide of a construction worker when they go home, nobody talks about that. So instead of thinking about just the safety side, it’s that holistic side of, how do we make somebody better for themselves and their families?”

Williams quickly appointed a director of addiction and mental health. James Boster, himself in recovery from a painkiller addiction he said he developed after a non-work injury, speaks at apprenticeship programs and worksites, helps workers get into recovery programs and acts as a crisis counselor.

In the past year, Boster said he’s helped place 51 union members into residential or outpatient treatment programs. During a recent interview at the union’s headquarters in Livermore, he said he was anxious: He had secured a “scholarship” for one member who hadn’t logged enough hours in recent months to have full health coverage, but the worker had chosen to postpone treatment.

“I can never walk away from a member, and something happens, and not hold that personally,” Boster said.

Boster and Williams are eager to expand their program. Ideas include installing someone with Boster’s role across the district’s 20 local unions and establishing a fund to help members who haven’t worked enough hours to afford treatment.

“I took Narcan classes, I passed out Narcan on the job sites. I never thought I’d be doing that.”
— Paul Moreno, president of Ironworkers Local 433 in Southern California

Other advocates, meanwhile, have pushed the state to require naloxone at worksites as part of an overall strategy to reduce overdoses.

Earlier this year, the National Safety Council, an advocacy group, petitioned California labor agencies to do just that. Proponents said the medication, which can temporarily reverse an overdose by blocking the brain’s opioid receptors, is easy to administer and not harmful.

Citing its workplace death data, Cal/OSHA supported the proposal before the independent Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board, which decides whether to approve such regulations.

“It’s in the top two or three killers of workers now, and just a few years ago, it was a very small number,” Eric Berg, Cal/OSHA deputy chief of health and research and standards, said at a June 20 board meeting. “So it’s just become a really serious problem for workers, and it’s killing workers. I think we have an obligation to act.”

But board members hesitated. Chairperson David Alioto called the proposal an “odd request.” While addiction is a legitimate public health concern, it’s not a workplace hazard like wildfire smoke for employees who must work outside, he said.

“I have not seen a regulation where an employer is providing a remedy for a risk that the employer did not create,” Alioto said.

Board members also said they worried about whether all businesses would be able to store the medication at the right temperature, and whether employers would bear liability over the medication’s use.

The standards board ultimately voted for the agency to discuss the matter before an advisory committee. In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law directing Cal/OSHA to draft a workplace naloxone rule by December 2027 and giving the board until December 2028 to consider it. So far, no advisory committee has met.

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CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

California judges make a good living. They earn at least $240,000 and can count on a raise just about every year, a requirement that’s written into state law.

So why do they feel shortchanged by the state?

A coalition of them argues the state has been stiffing them for years by mishandling the formula it uses to calculate their wage increases. In a new lawsuit, one such judge is demanding that the state redo the math going back almost a decade to include information that likely would have resulted in bigger raises.

“There’s a reason why our latest pay increases have been so puny and falling far short of the rate of inflation. The state didn’t tinker with the statutory formula, but it seems to have played with the inputs,” said a statement announcing the lawsuit by a group called the Alliance of California Judges.

A lot of money is on the line. An appeals court justice filed a similar lawsuit a decade ago, and the state had to cough up $40 million after losing the case.

The formula at the heart of the lawsuit sounds simple. State law requires that judges receive annual raises based on the “average percentage salary increase” given to other California state employees. This year, judges received a 2.6% wage increase, down from 3.2% in the previous year.

But the state has fouled up the math before. The earlier case filed by a retired appeals court justice, Robert Mallano, turned on a mistake the state made during the Great Recession when it had withheld judges’ raises even though certain civil servants had received small pay increases. The state, ordered to recalculate judges’ wages, handed them $15,000 checks for missed pay.

This time, the complaint by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Maryanne Gilliard draws attention to one way Govs. Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom raised pay for public employees without giving them substantial general salary increases. It alleges the state illegally shorted the judges by not counting some of the pay-raising perks that went into recent contracts.

Both governors signed contracts that included general salary increases of up to 4% that benefited all workers represented by a given union, plus more generous targeted raises for specific groups of employees.

The judges allege the state has been counting only the general salary increases in the formula it uses to set judicial raises — while excluding the more targeted salary adjustments.

“Defendant CalHR has intentionally modified the inputs to the calculation such that active judges and justices are paid less than the salaries to which they are entitled,” reads the complaint, filed in September in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Gilliard’s attorney, Jack DiCanio, declined to answer questions for this story. Camille Travis, spokeswoman for the California Human Resources Department wouldn’t discuss the lawsuit..

Gilliard’s lawyers and attorneys for the state appeared before a judge last month. The state’s attorneys said the department “has properly calculated state employee average salary increases” and that state law “does not require the inclusion of ‘all categories of increases’ when calculating state employee average salary increases,’” according to a summary of the hearing.

Gilliard’s lawsuit names the State Controller’s Office and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System as additional defendants. The controller’s office manages the state payroll and would have to make adjustments to judges’ checks if the lawsuit succeeds. Similarly, Gilliard’s lawsuit asks CalPERS to recalculate the pensions it provides to judges.

The base pay for California judges is the third highest in the nation, according to the National Center for State Courts. But when the cost of living is factored in, California is in the middle of the pack at 25th.

From furloughs to real raises

Three key dates stand out in Gilliard’s complaint, with each reflecting a milestone in state labor negotiations:

• In 2006, the lawsuit contends, the state included the special pay raises when calculating the judges’ raises. That was the last year that happened. That’s also when state finances began to nosedive in the recession, leading to the prolonged budget crisis that defined former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s second term. Schwarzenegger ordered unpaid furloughs for state workers beginning in 2009.
• In 2016, then-Gov. Brown signed a contract with the largest union in the state workforce that made heavy use of so-called special salary adjustments. The deal gave an 11.5% raise over three years to all workers represented by Service Employees International Local 1000, but about a fifth of them received targeted wage increases that brought up their pay an additional 2% to 15%. Gilliard wants the state to recalculate judicial raises back to that year.
• In August 2023, Gilliard began to question the raises judges had been receiving. Newsom that month reached a deal with the enormous Local 1000 that included even more special salary adjustments than the Brown-era agreement. More than 50,000 workers — half of the civil servants represented by the union — received the kind of pay increases that the judges want included in their raise formula. Those incentives are worth about $200 million a year.

Local 1000 is not the only public employee union to make use of special salary adjustments and other kinds of pay-raising mechanisms.

A 2019 contract for the union that represents Caltrans engineers, for instance, added substantial incentives for longevity. The newest contract for the union that represents state scientists doesn’t have a general salary increase at all. Instead, it lifts pay through the targeted raises for specific groups of workers that are at the center of Gilliard’s lawsuit and by changing pay ranges, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

One-time retention perks are now routine

Eight years ago, union leaders characterized special salary adjustments as essential in keeping salaries competitive for certain high-demand workers. The biggest raises in the 2016 Local 1000 contract, for instance, went to highly trained actuaries.

Now, they are much more common. Last year, the legislative analyst who studies public employee contracts noted the Newsom administration did not explain why certain workers received extra money and others didn’t when it negotiated the most recent Local 1000 contract.

That “reduces transparency and increases complexity of the agreement with only days to review,” wrote analyst Nick Schroeder. “This limits the ability for both the Legislature and the public to understand why some state employee should receive higher pay increases than others.”

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CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

Steven Eugen Crayton, 75, of Weitchpec, passed away at his residence on November 26, 2024. He was born in Long Beach to Earl and Lucile Crayton.

Steven Crayton, also known as “Old Man Crayton” or “Pa Crayton” was a jack of all trades. He loved his family, friends and community where many also became family. Steven was a long-time resident of Weitchpec. He was a master mechanic and helped numerous people throughout the area.

He is survived by his loving wife of 48 years, Debra E. Crayton; daughters Jennifer L. Crayton, Alicia S. Crayton; and son Tyrone T. Crayton Sr. Of those 48 years of his marriage, he became “Pa Pa.” He has 16 grandchildren: Devin Price, Roman Price, Karen Lewis, Landon Madison, Juanita McKinnon, Oskee Hostler, Loren Hostler, Dakota Mosier Sr., Aliya Hostler, Jose Lopez, Denysha Sanders, Jaiden Sanders Crayton, Tyrone T. Crayton Jr., Cameron Crayton, Annelaine Crayton, and Naomi Kleinhans. He also had 13 great-grandchildren: Steven Watson, Joseph McCovey, Julian McCovey, Sandra Huntzinger, Niya Lopez, Dakota Mosier Jr., Hunter Moiser, Andie Madison, Jordahlea Price, Jarren Littlefield, Jacob White, Nathan White, and Journee Hoyt.

Steven Crayton was preceded in death by Lucile Crayton, Ed Pelzar, Thelma and Edgar McLaughlin, Lonnie McLaughlin, David McLaughlin, Stanton McLaughlin, Sandy Downs, Walter Cosce Sr., Norman Lewis Jr., Steven Lewis, Stephanie Lewis, Jason Price Sr., Jay Jay Price, and William Price.

Steven Crayton was laid to rest Friday, November 29 at 1 p.m. at “The Crayton Residence” on McKinnon Hill, Weitchpec, California.

Pallbearers: Tyrone T. Crayton Sr., Loren Mckinnon, Roman Price, Dakota Mosier Sr., Vito Cosce, Oskee Hostler, Landon Madison, Jose Lopez.

Honorary pallbearers: Tyrone T. Crayton Jr., Cameron Crayton, Butch Redd, Rudy Inong, Dick Robbins, Tyke Robbins, Louis Cosce, Walter Cosce Jr., David Tripp, Chris Watson (Boogz), Eddie Torres and Rudolph Colegrove Sr.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf ofSteven Crayton’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

John Gaylord Snyder passed away in the comfort of his own home with his wife beside him after a long battle with bone cancer.

John was born in Pomona, California on November 13, 1956 and passed in McKinleyville on October 21, 2024.

John loved working in the woods, but after a widowmaker struck him he went on to do security and tree work. We always joked he would live longer than any of us. John could fix almost anything, and we miss that knowledge of cars, lawnmowers and saws that he could always get running. We also miss his humor and willingness to help many of us. He would come and save you no matter where you were.

John loved his Harley, his boat, and his truck. He loved taking his little boat out in the ocean for salmon. He kept his old truck running to 300,000 miles and it is still running.

John loved his wife, his children and his nine grandchildren. John is survived by his siblings, aunts, and uncles, cousins, son in laws and daughter in law. His children LaNita, Jessica, Rachel and Patrick and wife Christy. His grandchildren are Davi, Ryan, Letizia, Tyler, Coal, Zoey, Evelynn, Cameron and Linnea.

We miss him dearly and will do a bonfire in our backyard during winter break as John loved bonfires.

Bruce Allen Bennett
December 15, 1966 - November 27, 2024

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Bruce Bennett, who departed this life on November 27, 2024, at the age of 57. Born on December 15, 1966, Bruce was a beloved father, grandfather, son, brother, and friend who left an unforgettable mark on the hearts of all who knew and loved him.

Bruce was the devoted father of three children: Zachary, Trevor, and Emily, and the proud grandfather of eight grandchildren, who will miss him immensely. He cherished every moment spent with them, creating countless memories filled with love, laughter and endless joy. He was the cherished son of Bob and Della Bennett and a caring brother to his sister, Christina Rivera.. Bruce’s constant companion, his loyal dog Gypsy, was by his side for life’s many adventures, embodying the special bond between them.

Bruce proudly served his country as a member of the United States military, demonstrating his commitment to protecting the freedoms and values he held so dear. His time in service was a testament to his strength, discipline, and dedication to something greater than himself. Bruce was a man of deep faith, devoted to God, and driven by a passion for serving others. Whether praying for those in need or finding ways to uplift those around him, Bruce lived a life that reflected his heart for people and his unwavering belief in God’s purpose.

Known for his adventurous spirit and vibrant personality, Bruce brought energy and joy into every room he entered. His presence was magnetic, and his kindness and compassion left a lasting impact on everyone he encountered.

While his passing leaves a profound void, Bruce’s legacy of love, faith, service, and selflessness lives on in the lives he touched. His family finds comfort in knowing he is now at peace in the presence of his Maker. Services honoring Bruce will be held Saturday, December 14 at 9:30 a.m. at Goble’s Mortuary, 560 12th Street, Fortuna. followed by a graveside service at Sunrise Cemetery, 3315 Newburg Road, in Fortuna. Bruce Bennett’s memory will forever remain in the hearts of his loved ones, a testament to a life well-lived and deeply cherished.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Bruce Bennett’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

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PREVIOUSLY

• The Blue Lake City Council Race Could Very Well End in a Tie. Here’s How It Would Get Decided.
• Blue Lake’s City Council Election Tie Will Be Resolved By Pulling a Name From a Hat, Essentially

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Rarely is democracy so dramatic. 

An exact tie for the third and final available seat on the Blue Lake City Council was resolved tonight with bated breath as a slip of paper pulled from an envelope — which, moments earlier, had been selected among two envelopes inside a Christmas box — was revealed to have the name of Kat Napier written upon it.

With that, Napier defeated 12-year incumbent Mayor Adelene Jones, whose name had been written on the other slip of paper inside that envelope — and on one of the two slips inside the other envelope, left in the box.

If this sounds like an odd way to resolve an election, well, that may be true. But it appears to have met the parameters of California Elections Code 15651, which says election ties not determined by a runoff must be resolved with a random selection process like drawing straws or pulling a name out of a hat.

Or flipping a coin?

Humboldt County Clerk-Recorder and Registrar of Voters Juan P. Cervantes was present at the meeting, and he addressed the council right before this random draw, though he did so only as a member of the public. The council and staff had just been discussing the various methods that might be used to pick the winner in a manner that seemed most fair and transparent. Maybe it would be more random, somehow, to have eight or ten pieces of paper in a hat, evenly divided between Napier and Jones, one councilmember suggested. Ah, but it depends on the size of the container. And staff had only cut two pieces of paper in the exact same size. And so on.

“Is there a reason why we’re not flipping a coin?” Cervantes inquired. “Cuz it seems significantly straightforward and intuitive.”

The consensus among staff and the council was that, no, in fact. A coin flip might court controversy. Who gets to call it? Does it fall all the way to the floor? What if it clips something on the way down?

So instead, the group decided to go with four pieces of paper — two with Napier’s name, two with Jones’s — divided into two separate envelopes and placed into one gift box.

Napier and Jones put the names in the manila envelopes themselves:

Those envelopes were then placed into the gift box, which was shaken vigorously as Napier and Jones stood awkwardly in front of the council table, awaiting the result. Eventually, an envelope was selected, and a paper was pulled from that envelope.

As the name was revealed, Jones’s face fell and Napier exclaimed, “Oh boy!”

The two candidates then shook hands, and Jones, looking dejected, returned to her seat and started gathering her things. However, she was reminded that the new council hadn’t yet been sworn in. She was still mayor, for a few minutes more. 

She took the opportunity to address the public. 

“We had the tie-breaker, and Katheryn Napier won the tie,” she said. “I would like to say that I’ve loved being the mayor for all these years.”

She recalled some of her proudest achievements, including getting the city through the difficult COVID pandemic, helping to bring roundabouts to intersections, developing a gateway to the city, participating in the groundbreaking for the Annie & Mary Trail and approving bridges over Powers Creek.

“And, of course, assisting in getting our town square across the street from the Post Office has been my greatest joy and proudest moment,” Jones said.

She closed with a bittersweet farewell remark to the three newly elected councilmembers — Napier, John Sawatzky and Michelle Lewis-Lusso.

“If you love Blue Lake even half as much as I do, then we’re going to be fine,” she said. “Just fine.”

As staffers and colleagues offered appreciations, Jones sat for one last time in the mayor’s chair and accepted a round of applause. 

UPDATE: Body Identified

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The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after a woman’s body was found this morning in Humboldt Bay.

As first reported on the Redheaded Blackbelt, shortly after 9:30 a.m., local law enforcement and rescue swimmers with the Humboldt Bay Fire recovered a body near the Hog Island Oyster Company, near Fairhaven, in Humboldt Bay.

Meg Ruiz, a public information officer with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, told the Outpost that the body recovered was that of “a deceased adult female,” adding that the Sheriff’s Office is still working to confirm the identity of the woman. 

“More information will be released as soon as possible,” Ruiz said.