FORT BRAGG, CALIF., 1/13/25 — A Mendocino County medical examiner used dental records to confirm that the remains of a young person found just before Christmas underneath the Noyo River Bridge in Fort Bragg are those of missing teen Roy Mora, the Sheriff’s Office said Monday.
Mora was discovered on Dec. 23 after disappearing following a Dec. 7 Lighted Truck Parade in downtown Fort Bragg.
Someone found the body just after 8 a.m. that morning and called dispatch. Although officers who arrived could not identify the body, they noted the person was wearing the same clothes Mora was wearing when he disappeared. Mora’s mother would also go on to identify a necklace belonging to her child.
The area around the bridge had been searched dozens of times by law enforcement and volunteers. Investigators used cell phone and other data to triangulate Mora’s whereabouts and tracked him entering Noyo Bridge shortly after the parade. His phone was found on the sidewalk of the bridge, but no cameras showed him leaving, nor did police find evidence that cars slowed down on the bridge.
On Dec. 26, Mora’s dental records were compared to those of the decedent and he was officially positively identified, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Though any questions about the identity of the found teenager no longer remain, the exact manner of his death is still pending a full postmortem exam, the Sheriff’s Office said. That report could take “multiple months,” they said.
Condolences to his mother, family and friend. Sending a ray of warm light to your loved one.