The Disappearance and Murder of Dorothy Jane Scott
An Unexpected Find
On August 6, 1984, a work crew discovered a partially charred adult human skeleton half a mile east of Eucalyptus Drive in northeast Anaheim, California. Jesse Loza, a Macco Construction Company foreman, stumbled upon the remains around 7:15 a.m. as he and his crew readied to lay pipe for Pac Bell telephone lines. Loza discovered the bones minutes after joking with his crew to “watch out for dead bodies.”
Next to the remains lay the partial skeleton of a dog. Richard Rodriguez, Orange County Deputy Corner, first speculated that “he or she may have been hiking with their dog” when something befell them. He listed the cause of death as “questionable.”
Investigators found the remains scattered over a 25-foot radius, pointing to animal activity. The burned nature of the bones occurred when a brush fire swept through the area in the fall of 1982. This led Rodriguez to estimate that the bones had been at the site for over two years.
Investigators collected a complete skull, two femurs, a pelvis, an arm, and dog bones. A housing tract encircled the area overlooking the Riverside (91) Freeway about 30 feet from Santa Ana Canyon Road.
