Sheriff Identifies Remains Eaten By Mountain Lions At Pima Canyon

TUCSON, AZ — The Pima County Sheriff’s Department identified the human remains eaten by mountain lions Mon., Dec. 30, at Pima Canyon Trail near Tucson as Steven Mark Brashear, 66, who was reported missing to Oro Valley Police in December. No arrests have been made in the case, but the Sheriff’s Department arrested Daylan Jacob Thornton, 21, Sat., Jan. 4 as a suspect in the theft of Brashear's vehicle.

Brashear arrived in the Tucson metro area on Dec. 8 from Bartlesville, Oklahoma. He went to a Tucson Mall area restaurant that day, then someone in a different vehicle picked him up, Oro Valley Police reported. Brashear wasn’t seen again until his remains were found on the trail, ABC 15 reported.

Meanwhile, authorities said that Thornton drove Brashear’s car when he went to meet with case investigators, that Thornton was also from Oklahoma and that the information Thornton provided helped convince police Brashear had died, KOLD reported.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department was called to Pima Canyon Trail near Magee Road and First Avenue on a report of suspicious activity on the evening of Dec. 30. At the trail, they found human remains, and a full-grown mountain lion and two yearlings who had eaten the remains. Arizona Game and Fish Department officials shot and killed the three mountain lions, saying it was because mountain lions eating human remains was not typical behavior and made them “a clear and present danger to public safety.”

The Pima County Sheriff's Office is asking anyone who has information on this case to call 911, dial 88-CRIME to give an anonymous tip, or submit a tip at 88CRIME.org. Tipsters might be given a reward for information provided.