Body Found In Car Near St. Helena ID'd As Local Restaurant Cook

NAPA VALLEY, CA — The Napa County Sheriff-Coroner's Office has identified a man found dead Monday morning by California Highway Patrol officers who responded to a report of a vehicle down an embankment just outside St. Helena city limits.

Cameron Thompson, 26, was from Los Angeles and was residing in Calistoga at the time of this death, according to Napa County Sheriff-Coroner spokesman Henry Wofford.

Thompson worked as a cook at The Restaurant At Meadowood in St. Helena, Wofford told Patch.

When Thompson failed to show up at work Saturday afternoon, co-workers reported him missing to the Napa County Sheriff's Office.

Thompson was last seen leaving work around 2:30 a.m. Saturday, CHP Officer Vince Pompliano said.

Thompson's car, a 2012 Volkswagen, was not readily visible from the road but a co-worker found the vehicle Monday morning and called the CHP around 9:05 a.m.

CHP investigators determined Thompson was traveling northbound early Saturday morning when the Volkswagen veered to the left across the southbound lane of Silverado Trail and struck a guardrail on the west shoulder.

The Volkswagen then became airborne and struck a tree, Pompliano said.

The car was towed up onto Silverado Trail Monday morning, prompting the closure of Silverado Trail between Deer Park Road and Pope Street. A Sig-alert was in effect until the roadway reopened at 12:11 p.m.

— Bay City News Service contributed to this report.