Over the holiday period, there were two incidents, unrelated, in which vehicles were found on or near Highway 18, and the drivers were found deceased. On Tuesday, December 29, a county snowplow operator located a Jeep Liberty about 200 feet over the hillside, off the Old Waterman Canyon portion of Highway 18, west of the Crestline Cutoff. The driver, 53-year-old David Bokor of Crestline, was found deceased, alone in his vehicle. Bokor’s vehicle left the roadway for an unknown reason and, based on the evidence, California Highway Patrol officers noted, rolled several times, perhaps the day prior to being found; investigating Officer Edward Escalera of the CHP tells KBHR that the investigation was turned over to the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Station and, per the latest from Sheriff’s headquarters, a determination in the Bokor incident is pending a San Bernardino County Coroner’s report, which has not yet been released as of January 12.
In the early morning hours of Monday, January 4, Bear Valley Search and Rescue was called in to assist the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, after a CHP officer had found an empty Toyota Matrix parked on Lakeview Point in the Arctic Circle portion of Highway 18, just above Snow Valley. A check of the vehicle indicated that it belonged to 81-year-old Julius Tinsley of Arcadia who, per Arcadia Police Lieutenant Paul Foley, had been reported missing by his family on New Year’s Day. Neighbors of Tinsley had seen him outside his Arcadia residence in the evening hours of New Year’s Eve; it wasn’t until the 6am hour on January 4 that Tinsley’s body was located, about 300 feet over the embankment from Lakeview Point. Lieutenant Foley tells KBHR that there is no indication of foul play, and the Arcadia Police Department has been waiting on the San Bernardino County Coroner to determine a cause of death. An official with the coroner’s office tells KBHR today that, as of this week, Mr. Tinsley’s death has been ruled as accidental.
Update as of January 15: With regard to Mr. Bokor, the county coroner’s office tells KBHR that the manner of death will not be released, now, until lab results are made available. Bokor is survived by a sister and father.
As for Mr. Tinsley, the Arcadia Police Department tells KBHR that they have no reason to believe that his death was anything but accidental.
