A burned body has been recovered in the area of a wildfire on Mount Wilson after the family of a Sylmar teen said the young man was believed to have gone to the mountain.
The Los Angeles County coroner’s office confirmed Thursday that a body was found and recovered from the mountain above Pasadena, but the individual had not yet been identified.
The body was that of a male and was burned, the Los Angeles Times reported, saying authorities could not confirm if the fire was responsible for the death. Sheriff’s detectives determined the death was not a homicide, the Times reported.
On Wednesday, the sister of 18-year-old Matthew Huerta told KTLA her brother had left the family’s Sylmar home before dawn Tuesday and never returned. Relatives found a letter indicating the teen wanted to hurt himself.
The Find My Friends app led Huerta’s friends to trace his cellphone to the Mount Wilson area, but family members were initially unable to access the area due to the 50-acre Wilson Fire.
The blaze, which broke out in brush and timber about 3:45 a.m. Tuesday, was 45 percent contained as of Thursday morning. About 365 people were working the fire, the cause of which remains under investigation.
Huerta’s sister, Elaine Morelos, on Wednesday pleaded with her brother to come home, and asked for help finding him. She said authorities were searching the Mount Wilson area for her brother. Los Angeles police also asked for help finding the teen.
On Thursday, Morelos indicated she longer wanted to speak to news media.
