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Published on April 17, 2024
Riverside Cold Case Unit Seeks Family of Murder Victim Jorge Lopez-Serrano After Decades-Long MysterySource: The County of Riverside

The Riverside County Regional Cold Case Unit is making a public appeal for help to identify the family of a murder victim, whose case has gone cold for more than three decades. Investigators have only recently managed to identify the man, who was found dead in a ravine off Highway 79, south of Interstate 10, in the Beaumont area back in March 1989.

After years of mystery, advanced forensic methods have allowed us to finally put a name to the face: Jorge Lopez-Serrano. Despite being able to identify him, investigators now face the challenge of aggressively seeking out any living relatives. According to authorities, Lopez-Serrano was a Mexican national with a history of arrests in the late 1980s for various offenses, including smuggling undocumented immigrants and vehicle theft.

The Riverside County Regional Cold Case Unit, in collaboration with the Mexican Consulate, has confirmed that Lopez-Serrano had a wife and children during his residence in La Paz, Mexico in 1987. With this revelation, the cold case team is hopeful that any family members still alive may finally be able to give Jorge Lopez-Serrano a proper send-off and potentially provide clues that could lead to his killer.

The Cold Case Unit is calling for anyone with information about Jorge Lopez-Serrano or his family to step forward. All tips can be made confidentially upon request. "Anyone with information regarding Lopez-Serrano or his family is asked to contact Investigator Jason Corey of the Regional Cold Case Unit," states a press release from the Riverside County District Attorney's Office. A photograph of the victim has been released by authorities to aid in the search for his family.

The comprehensive team working on this case includes members from the DA's Office Bureau of Investigation, the Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner Department, the FBI, and the Riverside Police Department. They stand ready to lend their expertise on any cold case homicides across Riverside County. For updates or additional information regarding the Lopez-Serrano case, the public is encouraged to call 951-955-5567 or email [email protected]. Additional case details can be found by visiting the DA's Office website at rivcoda.org/news/cold_case_murdered_1989.