Coroner rules McKinleyville man’s death accidental

The Humboldt County Coroner’s Office ruled Friday that a 77-year-old McKinleyville man found dead near his home earlier this month died accidentally. The official findings were released by the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office.

County records show the sheriff’s office handles these matters as formal death investigations before issuing a final finding. In a separate McKinleyville case dated Sept. 5, 2023, deputies were dispatched at about 2:32 p.m. to a residence on the 1400 block of Marty Avenue after a reporting party said the resident had missed an appointment and could not be reached.

The sheriff’s office also maintains a public Unsolved Cases page and routinely posts News Flash updates tied to death investigations. Those notices include separate entries labeled Accidental Death Investigation, along with other McKinleyville cases, reflecting the county’s practice of releasing findings after an initial investigation rather than at the moment a body is discovered.

McKinleyville is one of Humboldt County’s largest unincorporated communities. The McKinleyville Community Services District describes it as the fastest growing unincorporated community in Northern California’s Humboldt County and places its population at approximately 17,000.

For McKinleyville residents, the coroner’s ruling provides the final answer in a case that began with a death near a home and moved through the county’s standard investigative process. The sheriff’s office findings now close the public record on the man’s death as accidental.