Body Found in Wrecked Truck Registered to Missing Person

Santa Barbara authorities are working to positively identify a body found in a car discovered July 4th at the bottom of a ravine off Painted Cave Road. The white Chevy pickup truck is registered to the subject of a missing person case from March 2012, but officials say the ID process could take several weeks.

Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Kelly Hoover said the county’s Air Support Unit Copter 2 was on routine patrol when a senior deputy looked down and saw a bright object on the hillside. “The sun was reflecting off a white truck that was concealed in an area of thick brush,” she explained in an email. “It would have been virtually impossible to see the vehicle unless you had an aerial view.”

The truck was found at the bottom of a ravine, next to a cliff surrounded by large trees and high, thick brush that stood 15-20 feet tall, Hoover said. It took about eight hours to bring the truck back up to the road. Noting the open case, Hoover wouldn’t elaborate on any of the items found in the vehicle.

She also wouldn’t comment on speculation that the body belongs to Tim Goodwin, who was reported missing in March 2012. He was last seen in his white Chevy pickup truck with a matching camper shell, and a missing person report for him was filed with the Sheriff’s Department last year.