JOSHUA TREE (CNS) - Human remains found last week by researchers at Joshua Tree National Park were those of a Florida man who went missing last year, authorities confirmed Wednesday.
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The Riverside County coroner's office identified him Wednesday afternoon as 26-year-old Trammell Evans.
Evans' family and friends had created the Facebook page "Find Tram" in an effort to find him. He went missing after being dropped off at the Black Rock area of the park on April 30, 2023, to hike. According to their first post after he went missing, Evans was very familiar with the park, but failed to meet up at his designated rendezvous point on May 5, 2023, after which they worried for his safety and well-being.
"It appears that he succumbed to complications related to alcohol withdrawal. In his final journal entry, filled with optimism but also concern regarding the symptoms of withdrawal, Tram expressed his love for everyone, reminding us that `love is what life is all about,"' they posted on the page Sunday. "He sought healing through being in nature, but underestimated the challenges of his condition."
They additionally thanked the Fowler O'Sullivan Foundation, Joshua Tree National Park Service, and community for their support.
Deputies responded to the Joshua Tree National Park in Twentynine Palms shortly after noon last Thursday regarding the discovery of human remains off a trail in the area, according to Sgt. Efrain Santos of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
"Federal park rangers were alerted to the discovery by researchers and requested the Riverside County Sheriff's Office and the Riverside County Coroner's Bureau to respond," Santos wrote in a statement.
Santos added that the cause of death remained undetermined as the Riverside County Coroner Bureau's investigation was ongoing.
Anyone with information was urged to contact the sheriff's Palm Desert station at 760-836-1600. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 760-341-7867 with reference number 0240250071.
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