Teams searching for two men who had separately gone missing in Plumas County discovered bodies on Sunday, the sheriff’s office announced.
• James Thornton, 52, had last been seen on Jan. 17 and was reported missing by his family on Feb. 7. A tip from a person who had seen him cutting wood focused searchers’ attention on a remote area of Plumas County near Keddie Ridge, north of the community of Indian Valley.
On Thursday, Feb. 17, items belonging to Thornton were found, and on Sunday the body was discovered at Keddie Ridge.
An autopsy will determine his cause of death, the sheriff’s release said.
• Frank Christopher, 53, of Chico, was reported missing Jan. 30 by his family after he failed to return from a camping trip. His truck was found parked in the Rock Creek area.
The search was scaled back on Feb. 8, after items belonging to Christopher were found and their location indicated he could have gone into a fast-running stretch of Rock Creek that presented hazards to the searchers.
Around 2:30 p.m. Sunday, personnel from the CalFire station at Jarbo Gap told sheriff’s deputies that a body had been found in Rock Creek north of Highway 70, in the area of the search for Christopher. Rescue crews from several agencies recovered the dead person.
It is not yet known if the body is Christopher’s. An autopsy will be performed to confirm identity and determine a cause of death, the sheriff’s office said.
