The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office reported that at 8 a.m. Saturday Boonville resident Deputy Keith Squires was contacted at his residence by a citizen.
The man stated that he had stopped to walk his dog on a trail adjacent to the Hendy Woods State Park and discovered a body lying alongside the trail.
Deputy Squires and the citizen went to location where he found a Hispanic male adult with a single gunshot wound.
Mendocino County detectives were called to the location where a murder investigation was initiated.
The man's body was found off a trail across from the entrance to Hendy Woods State Park. Officials said the body was located approximately 50 feet from the road along the trail.
It appeared the deceased had been dropped at the location as there was no evidence that this was where he was killed.
The man, whose age is estimated at between 20 and 25, was dressed in blue jeans, a t-shirt and a green camouflage jacket.
The sheriff's office reported that the cause of death appears to be a gunshot wound but this is to be confirmed by an autopsy.
The deceased's identity is not known.
Anyone with any information about the killing or the identity of the deceased is encouraged to call Mendocino County Sheriff Detective Eric Riboli at 707-463-4107 or the tip line at 707-467-9159.
