The body of a man was found in Bouquet Creek Tuesday evening, leading investigators to believe he died of natural causes.
The man, in his 60s, reportedly lived in one of the cabins that line Bouquet Creek along Bouquet Canyon Road, about a half-mile from the site of the former Big Oaks Lodge.
“There were no signs of foul play,” said Sgt. Marc Boskovich, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau.
“It appears he died of natural causes,” he said, noting that he is waiting for word from the coroner.
An autopsy is pending.
“We conducted a death investigation on March 26,” Sarah Ardalani, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner, said Wednesday.
“A man was found dead in the 32800 block of Bouquet Canyon Road in Santa Clarita and was pronounced dead at the scene at 18:30 hours,” she said.
Although they know who the deceased man is, coroner officials are not releasing his name until the next of kin has been notified.
“The decedent’s ID is being withheld until we have spoken with his next of kin,” said Ardalani, describing him only as “a Caucasian male in his 60s.”
The deceased man was found Tuesday by friends who hadn’t seen him for three weeks.
They found him face up in the creek near his cabin, said one of the friends — who did not want to be identified.
“He went missing about two or three weeks ago. I just figured he was on vacation,” the friend said.
As soon as the grim discovery was made, the two friends phoned the SCV Sheriff’s Station.
“He had been deceased for at least a week,” Lt. Leo Bauer said.