Riverside investigators look to identify family members of cold case murder victim

The Riverside County Regional Cold Case Unit is asking for the public's help in identifying the family of a man murdered in 1989.

In March 1989, the body of a man with a gunshot wound to his chest was found in a ravine off Highway 79, south of Interstate 10, in the Beaumont area. 

When his body was found, he was wearing a "Cacharel" brand green and tan short-sleeve shirt and "DeeCee" brand white jeans.

This cold case remained unsolved until recent months when the Regional Cold Case Unit identified the victim as Jorge Lopez-Serano. 

The Mexican Consulate confirmed his identity and shared that Lopez-Serrano had a wife and children while residing in La Paz, Mexico in 1987.

Lopez-Serrano was a Mexican National and had been arrested several times in the late 1980s, including once by U.S. Border Patrol agents in San Diego on suspicion of smuggling undocumented immigrants into the United States and by Los Angeles police officers on suspicion of vehicle theft. 

He was known to use multiple names and multiple dates of birth during those arrests.

To bring closure to this case, Cold Case Unit investigators are asking the public for any information that may lead to the identity of family members of Lopez-Serrano. 

Anyone with information regarding Lopez-Serrano or his family is asked to call (951) 955-5567 or coldcaseunit@rivcoda.org.