Missing Shafter Man Found Dead Beside Santa Barbara County Jail After Earlier Search

Missing Shafter resident found dead near jail administration building

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — A missing Shafter man was found dead beneath brush on a hillside beside the Santa Barbara County Main Jail, one week after authorities say he was released from custody and an earlier search failed to locate him.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office identified the man through fingerprints as 53-year-old David Mireles. A custody employee reported seeing what appeared to be a person near the Main Jail Administration building at approximately 2:50 p.m. Thursday, August 27.

Deputies, American Medical Response personnel and Santa Barbara County firefighters responded and confirmed Mireles was dead. A Sheriff's Office Coroner's Bureau detective is investigating the death.

Read the source: Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office: Missing Shafter man found deceased near Main Jail ↗

Release and missing-person report were separated by hours

According to the Sheriff's Office, the California Highway Patrol arrested Mireles late Wednesday, August 19, on suspicion of misdemeanor driving under the influence and booked him into the Main Jail. An arrest is not a conviction.

Jail officials cite-released Mireles at approximately 10:23 a.m. Thursday, August 20. More than five hours later, CHP notified the Sheriff's Office that he had been reported missing from Shafter, authorities said.

The Sheriff's Office says deputies then conducted an extensive search of the jail property and surrounding area, including nearby businesses and places known to be frequented by people recently released from custody. Mireles was not found during that search.

Read the source: BakersfieldNow: Body of missing Shafter man found beside Santa Barbara County Jail ↗

Brush obscured the location where Mireles was found

Authorities said Mireles was ultimately located down a hillside near the end of the walkway in front of the Main Jail Administration building, on a slope toward Honor Farm Road.

The Sheriff's Office said brush blocked the location from view from Honor Farm Road and the walkway. According to the agency, a person would have needed to leave the walkway, enter the brush several feet and look down into the vegetation to see where Mireles was found.

The preliminary investigation indicates Mireles had likely been at that location since shortly after his release, the Sheriff's Office said. That finding remains preliminary while the death investigation continues.

Read the source: KEYT News Channel 3-12: David Mireles found near Main Jail ↗

Cause and manner of death remain undetermined

Investigators said Friday they had found no indication of foul play. That statement does not establish a final cause of death or end the Coroner's Bureau investigation.

The Sheriff's Office said Mireles was known to have multiple medical conditions, but officials have not identified those conditions publicly or said whether they contributed to his death.

The official cause and manner of death remain undetermined. Any claim that Mireles died from a specific condition, injury or action would be unsupported until the coroner releases additional findings.

Read the source: Wikimedia Commons: Public-domain Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office patch ↗

The unanswered questions

The confirmed timeline raises important questions about how Mireles reached the hillside, what happened after his release and why the first search did not locate him. The Sheriff's Office has described the terrain and vegetation that obscured his position but has not released a complete minute-by-minute account.

Officials also have not publicly announced whether surveillance footage captured Mireles after he left the jail, who reported him missing in Shafter or what information searchers had during the initial response.

Those are legitimate questions for the continuing investigation—not proof of misconduct or foul play. What’s the Scoop With Broach will update this report when the Coroner's Bureau determines the cause and manner of death or authorities release other material findings.