Body found in Lake County pot garden linked to SR missing person

A body unearthed in a large illegal marijuana garden in south Lake County is linked to a missing-person report made in Santa Rosa early this week, authorities said.

The body, found partially decomposed in a grave site in one of the garden areas, had not been positively identified as of Friday, nor had its connection to the Santa Rosa missing-person case been confirmed, Lake County authorities said.

The investigation stems from a report made to Santa Rosa police on Tuesday that a man was missing and that he may have been shot in a Lake County marijuana garden, Lake County sheriff's Capt. Jim Bauman said.

Following the tip, officers found 20,000 pot plants growing on private property near Highway 175 south of Socrates Mine Road on Cobb Mountain.

The property owners had no connection to the garden, Bauman said.

Officers entering the garden found several suspects, believed to be armed, who ran into the woods. An overnight search was conducted throughout the area by members of the sheriff's SWAT team with air support from the CHP.

About 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, officers were notified that two men were running down Highway 175. They were stopped and a 9 mm handgun was recovered nearby, Bauman said.

The men said they knew about the marijuana garden, and one led detectives to a grave, located between the Bear Canyon power plant access road and Socrates Mine Road, Bauman said.

Officers recovered a man's partially decomposed body and a sawed-off shotgun from the grave, Bauman said.

The men were arrested on suspicion of marijuana cultivation and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, he said.

Bauman would not disclose the name of the missing man or the identities of the two men who were arrested near the garden. He also said detectives were unsure whether the men arrested were involved in the suspected homicide.

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com.