Police discovered two bodies of suspected homeless residents in separate areas of Hollister on Tuesday, according to a police sergeant.
Investigators do not believe foul play was involved in either death, said Sgt. Don Pershall with the Hollister Police Department.
Police and coroner’s officers responded to the first discovery of a body around 2 p.m. in the San Benito River bed near Apricot Lane on the west side of Hollister. Pershall did not immediately have an age for the person. They responded to a second body, also believed to be a transient individual, at about 3 p.m. at 490 Tres Pinos Road. That is the address for the Shell gas station near Safeway.
The coroner’s office spokesman, Capt. Eric Taylor, said detectives are working on the follow-up to confirm identities and causes of deaths. He also said foul play is not suspected in either case.
Pershall said police do occasionally respond to the discovery of a transient person’s body, but two in one day is a rarity.
“That is. It really is,” he said. “Again, it appears to be completely coincidental.”
The deceased person found in the river had been living at a camp in the riverbed area.
“There are others down there,” Pershall said. “They move in and out, but there’s a large camp down there sometimes.”
The camps come and go because code enforcement removes or relocates them, he said.
