Cold case detectives asking for public’s help to locate family of 1989 murder victim

Cold case detectives are asking for the public’s help to find the family of a murder victim whose body was found in a ravine in Riverside County.

In March 1989, the man’s body was located in a ravine off Highway 79, south of the 10 Freeway near Beaumont, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.

The man died from a single gunshot wound to the chest and he remained unidentified for nearly 35 years.

Recently, cold case detectives were able to identify the man as Jorge Lopez-Serrano, a Mexican national who had been arrested on multiple occasions on suspicion of smuggling undocumented migrants into the U.S.

He was also arrested at one point by Los Angeles police on suspicion of vehicle theft.

Authorities say Lopez-Serrano used multiple names and provided different dates of birth following his arrests.

The Riverside County Regional Cold Case Unit, which is comprised of law enforcement officers across Riverside County and the FBI, is still actively searching for his loved ones, hoping to finally close the file on this decadeslong cold case.

According to officials, the Mexican Consulate said Lopez-Serrano had a wife and children in La Paz, Mexico when he lived there in 1987.

A photo of Lopez-Serrano has been released and detectives hope someone may be able to contact his surviving family. At the time of his death, he was wearing a green and tan short-sleeve “Cacharel” brand shirt and white “DeeCee” work pants, investigators said.

Anyone with information about the victim or his family is urged to contact Regional Cold Case Investigator Jason Corey at 951-955-5567. Tips can also be provided by email .

Officials say any information provided will be treated as confidential if needed.

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