Victim reported missing 8 days before head found under Hollywood Sign

A 66-year-old man whose head, hands and feet were found in Bronson Canyon below the Hollywood sign was reported missing eight days before his dismembered remains were discovered.

Hervey Medellin’s partner reported him missing Jan. 9 to police after he said the Hollywood resident failed to return home, two sources said. Medellin’s head was found in a bag Jan. 17 by dog walkers on a Bronson Canyon trail not far from his home. A subsequent search with cadaver dogs turned up two hands, and later two feet in a shallow grave.

According to friends and family, Medellin’s boyfriend told them Medellin left their third-floor apartment on DeLongpre Avenue Dec. 26 but that he continued to hear from him until Jan. 4. The boyfriend told family friends that when Medellin did not return he became concerned and reported him missing Jan. 9.

Los Angeles police and coroner’s officials identified the remains Friday as those of Medellin, a retired Mexicana Airlines employee known for his love of art and hiking and who sometimes walked his dog in the hills.

The sources stressed that detectives were not fully clear on the motive in the killing of Medellin. But investigators are looking into whether he was killed by someone he knew.

Detectives have not made any arrests, and the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case was ongoing, said they continued to examine other scenarios as well.