Using dental records, the Oregon State Medical Examiner on Monday positively identified a body found January 26 in the Baldock Rest Area off Interstate-5 and south of Wilsonville as that of Thomas Jean Hunt, 56, of Merced, California. Oregon State Police (OSP) has released a photograph of the man to assist in the development of information related to the “suspicious death” investigation.
Hunt was found about 11:20 a.m. by an Oregon Department of Transportation employee who was performing maintenance duties near the rear parking lot in the south section of the rest area, said troopers. The decomposed body was discovered in a thick brushy area about 100 yards south of the paved parking lot.
OSP has declined to reveal the manner and cause of death, but say “detectives investigating are still considering this to be a suspicious death.”
Investigation to date indicates Hunt was visiting the area.
Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact lead investigator OSP Detective Patti Rhodes at the Oregon State Police Northern Command Center dispatch at 800-452-7888.
