Another photo of Les Garcia.
Deputy Les Garcia from San Joaquin Country Sheriff's Department at the media press conference.
LINDEN, CA- For the fourth time in four days, investigators are searching through debris at an abandoned mine near Linden for the remains of victims of serial killers Wesley Shermantine and Loren Herzog.
This weekend, crews uncovered human remains.
According to Sacramento County Sheriff's Dept. spokesman Les Garcia, investigators combed through 12 piles of dirt on Saturday, unearthing several bones and a partial skull.
On Sunday, crews combed through at least 35 more piles of dirt.
"They had piles-- 35 of them I believe. They're small piles of dirt. You can see bones sticking out of them. It's just a horrendous scene," said Stockton Record Reporter Scott Smith.
"It's gruesome. It's horrible. It makes you want to cry, just standing there," said Smith.
Smith has been closely following the case and spent six years communicating with convicted killer Wesley Shermantine.
"I think I've got 30 or 40 letters," said Smith.
In one letter, Smith learned where Shermantine and Herzog claimed to have dumped several bodies during their killing spree in the 90s.
Since Thursday, nearly two dozen people, including investigators with the sheriff's department, the Department of Justice, and Public Works have been looking for human remains.
"It's tedious, as I keep trying to tell you, with personnel. They're going through and finding minute bones and items," said Garcia.
Sunday afternoon, Garcia said crews found a pair of women's sneakers. They also found a woman's sandal.
Both were discovered about 45 feet deep in the well. Earlier in the day, the sheriff's department said investigators found several bones, skull fragments, teeth, a purse, a coat, and a ring with initials on it.
"We believe the jewelry is going to help us. I believe some engraving. It's been buried for several years," said Garcia.
Garcia said crews will continue search efforts around the abandoned well. "It's going to be a lengthy process. So, we're continuing our efforts," said Garcia.
The sheriff's department said it's too early to tell how many different bodies they've found. They say the next step is sending all the tagged items to the Department of Justice for DNA analysis.
By Suzanne Phan, sphan@news10.net
Twitter: @suzannephan
Facebook: SuzannePhanNews10
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