Ventura County authorities Tuesday sought help to find people who may know a teenager whose remains were found near Camarillo in Ventura County more than three decades ago.
The partial human remained were discovered as crews were cleaning up a dump site off Beardsley Road near Wright Road on Aug. 30, 1993, The Ventura County Medical Examiner determined the remains were the lower leg bones of a teenager between the ages of 13 and 18.
Fast forward to March 2025, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office submitted DNA samples to a forensic genetic genealogy analysis company, which successfully built a DNA profile for the teen.
Labeling the case as “Camarillo Teen 1993,” the cold case unit within the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office conducted interviews and tracked down possible relatives.
The investigators eventually determined the remains of “Camarillo Teen 1993” belonged to Joseph Patrick Reardon, born on June 17, 1970, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. Reardon was also known as Joe Gilbreth, according to the investigators.
But details about Reardon’s life and how his bones ended up near Camarillo were not clear. The investigators have not been able to find anyone who knows Reardon, the sheriff’s office said.
“If you knew Joseph Patrick Reardon, also known as Joe Gilbreth, even in passing, we urge you to come forward,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “Any detail, no matter how small, could be the key to bringing answers and closure to this case.”
People with information were urged to contact the cold case unit of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.