Authorities find remains of missing Atascadero man, now investigating case as a homicide
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office says it has located the remains of 38-year-old Jared Jay Walters, the man reported missing to the Atascadero Police Department on Feb. 26, 2016.
Authorities are now investigating the case as a homicide.
The Sheriff’s Office says it found the remains in the area of the 4100 block of Stagecoach Canyon Road in rural Santa Margarita during a two-day search operation in March 2018, but it wasn’t until recently when the Department of Justice confirmed the identity of the remains through DNA testing.
SLO County Sheriff’s detectives received information that Walters’ remains were in Santa Margarita, which led to them obtaining a search warrant for the Stagecoach Canyon Road location. They were assisted by various agencies, including the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Special Enforcement Team, FBI, California Highway Patrol, Morro Bay Police, and the SLO County District Attorney’s Office among others.
This is an ongoing investigation and authorities say they will not be providing any further details in the case at this time.
Anyone with information regarding this murder investigation is asked to call the SLO County Sheriff’s Office Detective Division at 805-781-4500 or remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 805-549-7867.
