LAKE PILLSBURY – After authorities spent much of Thursday searching for a man reported to have died in the Hull Mountain area near Lake Pillsbury, a body has been found.

Sheriff Rod Mitchell confirmed that a body was recovered Thursday.

On Wednesday, a Spanish-speaking man had told authorities his son had died in the area that morning and he had been walking all day in order to reach help, according to California Highway Patrol incident logs.

Mitchell didn't specify a cause of death for the individual, but said it doesn't appear suspicious.

“There's no reason reason for us to suspect any foul play related to the death,” Mitchell reported.

While LCSO searched for and located the body Thursday, Mitchell said they later determined the location was just over the Mendocino County line.

Jurisdiction in the case therefore passes to the office of Mendocino County Sheriff Thomas Allman, Mitchell said.

As far as further details in the case, including an identification of the man, Mitchell referred those questions to Allman's office.

Calls to Allman's spokesman, Kevin Broin, were not returned Friday.

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CLEARLAKE – Clearlake Police officers have arrested a man who has reportedly confessed to violently attacking two females Tuesday night.

Tyrone McElmore, 19, has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon – in this case, a large rock – as well as assault causing bodily injury, attempted rape and attempted robbery, according to a report from CPD Lt. Mike Hermann.

McElmore is alleged to have brutally beaten a teenage victim in the head with a large rock as she was walking from the laundry room at Clearlake's Galaxy Resort. Hermann reported that McElmore allegedly fled from the scene after the teen began screaming for help.

Later than night, McElmore is alleged to have followed a 30-year-old female victim near Redbud Park, attacking her and also striking her on the head, Hermann's report stated. McElmore also is alleged to have attempted to rob and sexually assault the woman during the attack.

Hermann said McElmore allegedly fled the scene when a bystander heard the woman's screams and came to her aid.

Both of the victims were transported to the hospital where they were treated for their injuries and released, Hermann reported.

At 8:55 p.m. Tuesday, a Galaxy Resort resident called and reported that a subject matching the attacker's description was at the resort, according to Hermann.

CPD Officer Tim Hobbs responded to the call and contacted McElmore, who was found to be in possession of a black watch cap with eye holes cut out in it and a small paring knife.

During the interview McElmore gave Hobbs details of the attacks, but he claimed to have been a witness.

Hobbs took McElmore to the Clearlake Police station, Hermann reported, where Hobbs and Det. Richard Towle interviewed McElmore.

During the interview, McElmore is reported to have confessed to committing the crimes himself, and provided numerous details that Hermann said were known only to the victims and officers investigating the case.

Hermann said McElmore also gave police permission to search his residence, where they found clothing that was alleged to have been worn in the attacks.

At 1:20 a.m. Thursday police placed McElmore under arrest and transported to the Lake County Jail.

On Thursday morning, a jail official said McElmore was still being booked and bail had not yet been set.

Hermann said the investigation into the attacks is continuing. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Clearlake Police Det. Richard Towle, 994-8251.

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Authorities are investigating Michael Fausnaugh's death as a homicide. Photo courtesy of Lake County Sheriff's Office.

LAKEPORT – Sheriff Rod Mitchell said this afternoon that the death of a man whose body was found along Highway 29 Thursday is being investigated as a homicide.

The body of Michael Eugene Fausnaugh, 38, of Nice was reported to officials at 1:25 p.m. Thursday afternoon by a motorist who saw Fausnaugh lying near Bridge Arbor South, off Highway 29 in north Lakeport.

Deputies arriving on scene found Fausnaugh's body on the west side of the highway south of Tule Lake Road, said Mitchell.

Mitchell said Fausnaugh had head injuries that he termed “suspicious in nature.”

Traffic along a portion of Highway 29 near Mockingbird Lane and Bridge Arbor South was rerouted onto the Nice-Lucerne Cutoff between 2:29 p.m. and 6:42 p.m. while sheriff's deputies investigated the scene, Mitchell said.

That Fausnaugh was murdered “is being explored as a possibility,” said Mitchell.

It's unclear how long his body was in the area, said Mitchell, and whether or not he died there or was dumped.

As to the nature of Fausnaugh's head injuries, Mitchell said it's too early to tell if it was blunt force or a bullet wound. The autopsy is scheduled for Monday in Santa Rosa, he added.

Fausnaugh, who reportedly worked as a landscaper, was known to authorities, said Mitchell. “We did have prior contacts with him.”

Mitchell reported Fausnaugh was arrested numerous times – possibly as many as two dozen – between April of 1994 and the present for charges including public intoxication and driving under the influence of alcohol.

“Th is unfortunate, it really is,” said Mitchell.

Anyone with information relating to Fausnaugh's death is urged to contact LCSO Det. Brian Kenner at 262-4223.

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LAKEPORT – The Lake County Sheriff's Office reported this morning the finding of a dead body was the reason LCSO and California Highway Patrol officials closed off part of Highway 29 Thursday afternoon.

A report released this morning by LCSO Lt. Cecil Brown reported that the body's discovery took place early Thursday afternoon.

Brown's report explains that at 1:25 p.m. Thursday a man contacted the staff at the Lake County Juvenile Home through their intercom. He said he had just found a human body near Bridge Arbor South, in north Lakeport.

Deputies arrived in the described area at approximately 1:39 p.m., Brown said, where they located a deceased man on the west side of Highway 29, south of Tule Lake Road.

Brown said the man had visible injuries.

The deceased man was positively identified as a Nice resident, Brown said. However, his name will not be released until his next of kin has been notified.

Highway 29 around the area of Rodman Slough remained closed for several hours Thursday as LCSO investigated the discovery.

Brown said LCSO continues to investigate the circumstances leading to the man's death.

Any person who believes they may have information regarding this death should contact LCSO Det. Brian Kenner, 262-4223.

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LAKE COUNTY – A Lake County Sheriff's Office investigation Thursday afternoon shut down part of Highway 29 near the Nice-Lucerne Cutoff.

Sheriff Rod Mitchell would only say that “a death investigation under the jurisdiction of the sheriff's office” was the cause for the closure.

Mitchell would give no further details about the nature of the investigation, saying only that more information was expected to be released sometime today.

Signs along Highway 29 before the Nice-Lucerne Cutoff offramp said “accident ahead,” with detour signs then leading drivers off onto the cutoff and on to Nice. The onramp onto Highway 29 at cutoff also was blocked.

California Highway Patrol officers manned the road closure, but CHP Officer Josh Dye, the Clear Lake CHP office spokesman, said, “The incident was determined to be of the type that CHP does not handle.”

Dye added he could not release any more information on the incident because he didn't want to compromise LCSO's work.

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John Jensen contributed to this report. E-mail him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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LAKEPORT – A young Clearlake Oaks man remains in the hospital after a Friday night stabbing while five other young men – who the Lakeport Police Department believes are among the city's most significant Sureno gang members – are in custody for the attack.

Chief Kevin Burke of Lakeport Police reported Monday that 19-year-old Alex Larranaga was the victim of the Friday stabbing in Library Park. No formal update was available on Larranaga's condition, nor on how many times he was stabbed during the assault.

Larranaga was having dinner with his family at TNT on the Lake and had gone outside of the restaurant when the stabbing took place, according to Burke.

Later that night, Lakeport Police arrested five suspects, two adults – Ricardo Tapia Muniz, 18, and Elias Hernandez, 19, both of Lakeport – and three Lakeport juveniles for Larranaga's assault.

Muniz is alleged to have been the one who actually stabbed Larranaga, said Burke. He is charged with attempted murder with a felony criminal street gang enhancement, and remains in Lake County Jail on $155,000 bail.

Hernandez is being held on $150,000 bail on charges of conspiracy to commit a crime, attempted murder and the gang enhancement charge.

Three male juveniles also were arrested, according to LPD. They include a 14-year-old male from Lakeport, on conspiracy and attempted murder charges with the gang enhancement; a 16-year-old male from Lakeport, facing charges of attempted murder and a street gang enhancement; and a 17-year-old Lakeport resident, who is charged with conspiracy, attempted murder and the enhancement for street gangs.

Lakeport Police has identified all of the suspects as Sureno gang members, said Burke. “These gang members are no strangers to us.”

He added, “With these arrests you've got some of our more significant local members currently under lock and key.”

Lakeport Police's investigation into the stabbing continued through the weekend, with the department on Monday submitting the case to the District Attorney's Office, who is reviewing it to determine the appropriate charges, said Burke.

District Attorney Jon Hopkins on Monday confirmed that he has LPD's reports and that arraignment for Muniz and Hernandez will take place today at 1:15 p.m. in Lakeport.

Hopkins said no decision has yet been made about whether or not to charge the juveniles suspects as adults. In that case, fitness hearings would need to be held, he said.

A followup investigation is continuing, Burke said, with additional interviews planned and physical evidence to be processed, which Burke said will take time.

Burke said that gangs have surfaced in Lakeport on and off over the years and now there is an emerging gang presence in the city. “We've been aware of it for some time and we created a gang unit to deal with this issue approximately nine months ago.”

Det. Norm Taylor leads the three-officer unit, he said. Those officers gather intelligence, document gang membership, and track gang members' behavior and activities, he said.

Local gang members, said Burke, mostly belong to the Surenos, with little Norteno presence in Lakeport. There also is a motorcycle gang presence locally, Burke added.

Know Gangs, an organization that trains law enforcement on gang activity, report that the Surenos and Nortenos grew out of gangs formed in the state prison system during the 1950s and 1960s.

Burke said the investigation so far has led him to conclude that Larranaga was stabbed because the suspects perceived he was a rival gang member. Whether or not Larranaga is a gang member has not been determined, said Burke, adding that the young man's family insists he is not.

In larger metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, where Burke worked for the police department before coming to Lakeport, gangs are synonymous with organized narcotic sales, he said. The local gangs aren't quite as sophisticated or elaborate, he said, and the narcotic trade doesn't appear to be part of their activities.

Locally, police have drawn connections between Sureno gang activity and minor crimes such as vandalisms, property damage and vehicle break-ins, noted Burke. He said his staff isn't certain if an affiliation been the local Sureno gangs and the larger statewide gang network exists.

Sheriff Rod Mitchell said that the gang presence in the county at large includes Surenos, Nortenos, Street Villains, outlaw motorcycle gangs, and some south county groups claiming affiliation with the Crips and the Bloods.

Only a few of the local gang members are legally certified, said Mitchell, a process in the courts that sets the stage for charging individuals with crime enhancements.

Last October in Middletown a teenager was seriously beaten by three juveniles, and Mitchell said investigators concluded was a gang-related crime.

“We believe the motivation for the attack was inspired by suspects being or claiming some type of a gang affiliation,” he said, adding that the victim was not a gang member and believed the attack was a random incident.

All three of the juveniles were arrested and prosecuted, said Mitchell. Because of laws protecting juveniles' prosecution information, Hopkins could not elaborate on the outcome of the prosecution.

Burke said his department plans to continue approaching the problem aggressively and proactively.

“Our goal is to never let it get to the point where it's a sophisticated gang problem,” he said. “We've done a pretty good job of disrupting their activities.”

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