Body found in train hopper car in Crows Landing. Deputies, railroad investigating
The discovery of a man’s body in a train car in Crows Landing on Thursday morning is being investigated by the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department and the Union Pacific Railroad.
A hopper car, with no side doors but hatches on top and bottom, was delivered to a business on East Fifth Street sometime during the night for employees to practice loading grain, Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Tom Letras said Thursday morning.
In a 7 a.m. hour, workers opened a bottom hatch on the rail car and saw clothing protruding, he said. They opened a top hatch and saw the body of a man estimated to be in his late 20s or early 30s.
The body almost certainly was in the car when it was dropped off at the business, Letras said. There were no obvious signs of violence, such as strangulation or stab or gunshot wounds, he said, and an autopsy will determine cause of death.
The man likely has been dead for a matter of a few days at most, Letras said. The train manifest will be used to track the rail car’s recent history. Investigators will determine when and where along the line the man could have gotten into the hopper or someone could have placed his body there. They’ll be looking for video that may show how, as well.
The “where” of the mystery could be as far north as Vancouver, Washington, Letras said. Identifying the man might help narrow down the location.
