The remains of a man identified in August as a suspect in the shooting and wounding of a member of the Placer County Search and Rescue Team are believed to have been found. Nevada County Sheriff Keith Royal says the remains were found by a jogger, last Sunday, on a South Yuba River trail, about 4 miles downstream from the town of Washington…

click to listen to Sheriff Royal

Royal says an autopsy was done on Tuesday and the cause of death could not be determined. But there was no evidence of foul play. Then on Wednesday, deputies and search and rescue team members returned to the location where the remains were found. And based on those findings, investigators believe the remains may have been those of 61-year-old Kurt Collins…

click to listen to Sheriff Royal

The Placer County Search and Rescue Team member, Steve Wolf, was wounded in August of last year near a campsite along the river, while a pursuit and attempted murder suspect was being sought. The Department had also identified Collins as a person of interest in a shooting death of 67-year-old Michael Mahoney in July of last year, as well as the disappearance of Joseph Murphy, in 2003. Murphy had worked with Collins in prospecting for gold. Royal says positive identification of Collins could take several months.