Andrew Dean Elam (March 3, 1970 – June 17, 1989) was 19 years old when his life ended. The Desert Sun (Tu) June 20, 1989 called Andrew an “exceptionally” bright young man whose death was senseless.
Andrew and his parents had been jogging in the San Jacinto Mountains. He returned to the car to walk their dog. When his parents came back, Andrew was gone, the car had been broken in, and according to the paper their dog was running around loose.
Andrew’s remains were found six hours later, around 330pm, in a brushy area near the Pacific Crest Trail about fourteen miles southeast of Idyllwild.
The Palm Desert Post (Wed) June 21, 1989 listed the left rear tire as punctured, a purse was missing as well as the car keys and the garage door opener, and more. Andrew must have surprised those robbing their car.
Andrew died from blunt force trauma to his head according to The Desert Sun (Thu) June 22, 1989. They added that no murder weapon was found near the body or anything else that could have caused the head injury.
According to this 2015 article Riverside County Sheriff Investigator Lester Harvey said that modern technology will bring answers to this case. He is quoted saying that there is a
“lot of physical evidence, a lot of good physical evidence that we have managed to preserve and continue to test and remain hopeful that with everything we have entered into our database system we will get a connect.
We will get a hit, we will get a link that will allow us to continue to reach out and talk to more people and ultimately apprehend our suspect,” said Harvey.
The suspect could resemble a witness sketch of a man seen in the area during the time of Andy’s death. “Our person of interest is still our person of interest,” said Harvey.”
The car is their source for physical evidence and I hope that most has been preserved. Maybe some pieces of evidence were found in Andrew’s hands and under his nails. The original detective on the case has passed away. I found nothing further in the papers about forensics advancing this case. Andrew’s case is briefly discussed in Andrea Lankford’s book Trail of the Lost.
Contact Information
If you have any information about this case, please contact the Riverside County Sheriff Office’s Homicide Hotline (951) 955-2777.
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In the series “Case of the Month” I highlight old unsolved cases. These posts are not an in-depth analysis and of course, more information can be found online and in newspaper archives.
We need to get these cases back in the mainstream media, to get people talking again, and if anything, to make sure that we do not forget the victims. Just because their cases are unsolved does not mean that we can forget about them.
With the advances in modern forensic sciences, we have a chance to find clues that previously remained hidden. So, let us review all these old cases once more.
I encourage you to share this post on your own social media platforms. By sharing these posts online, the cases reach new networks, new connections, and the latest news feeds. One day these updates may pop up in the right person’s news feed. That may be someone who can help advance the case and that is my goal.
Rest in peace, Andrew Dean Elam.