Remains found by hunter identified as firefighter missing since 2020, California cops say
Human remains found by a hunter last fall have been identified as a firefighter missing since 2020, California deputies say.
The remains found near Cactus Flats in October belonged to Carlos Baltazar, a firefighter with the Big Bear Hotshots, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office said in a March 11 news release.
Abandoned car found
Baltazar, then 35, was reported missing by family Sept. 24, 2020, San Bernardino County deputies said in the news release.
His crashed car was found along Highway 18, Wade Muehlhof, a spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service, told McClatchy News in an email on March 12. Baltazar’s backpack was found 75 yards away, according to deputies.
Deputies searched the area while K-9s tracked his scent “but the scent was eventually lost,” deputies said.
Baltazar, who worked as part of the United States Forest Service Interagency Hotshot Crew, was off duty when he disappeared and “not in the area of the El Dorado Fire,” deputies said.
El Dorado Fire
At the time of his disappearance, Baltazar was among the fire crews battling the El Dorado Fire, according to Muehlhof.
The fire was sparked during a family’s gender reveal photo shoot Sept. 5 when “a smoke-generating pyrotechnic device was set off in a field and quickly ignited dry grass,” KNBC reported.
Charles Morton died battling the blaze Sept. 17, a week before Baltazar was reported missing, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Morton was Baltazar’s captain, and his death “weighed heavily on him,” his sister told KTLA.
“Because they are so close — that he wasn’t able to help him … knowing that he couldn’t do anything for him,” Veronica Baltazar told the outlet.
Remains found in 2024
A hunter north of Big Bear stumbled on a human skull the afternoon of Oct. 26, deputies said.
After arriving, deputies said they searched the area and found additional remains, which they confirmed to be human.
“The remains were in a very remote, mountainous area. There are no trails or roadways where the remains were at,” Mara Rodriguez, a sheriff’s spokesperson, told the San Bernardino Sun. “Not an area that appeared to be frequented by hikers.”
Months after the discovery, DNA testing led deputies to identify the remains as Baltazar.
“The U.S. Forest Service extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends, and co-workers of Carlos Baltazar,” Muehlhof said.
Baltazar’s cause of death is undetermined, deputies said.
‘Fantastic friend and colleague’
In a GoFundMe, Baltazar’s niece said he was “always positive, always putting God and his family first.”
“My uncle was a fantastic friend and colleague who was like a brother to all, constantly pushing others to always be the best,” Melinda Nadine Herrera wrote. “He loved to exercise and listen to music, but most of all, he loved and adored his mom and son.”
He is survived by his 14-year-old son, the GoFundMe says.
Cactus Flats is about 110-mile drive northeast from Los Angeles.
This story was originally published March 12, 2025 at 1:05 PM with the headline "Remains found by hunter identified as firefighter missing since 2020, California cops say."
