According to authorities in California, the remains discovered by a group of hikers last weekend have been confirmed as those of a Hollywood studio executive missing since 2012.
Gavin Smith, film distribution executive for 20th Century Fox, vanished in May 2012. According to Reuters, he was last seen exiting the Oak Park, Calif. home of a friend on May 1 of that year. The 57-year-old's family offered a $20,000 reward for information regarding his disappearance, and he was officially declared dead by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office this past May. His remains were found by hikers in Palmdale, Calif. on Sunday.
Nicole Nishida, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office, told Reuters that an official cause of death hasn't been identified. However, Smith's death is being treated as a homicide.
The discovery of his Mercedes Benz in a storage a facility back in February 2013 tied John Creech to the crime. Although Creech has not been charged, Reuters says he has been flagged as what the sheriff's office called a "person of interest," as Smith reportedly met his wife while both were in rehab.
[via Reuters]
