Skeletal remains found in search for missing woman during homeless camp cleanup on LA’s Venice Beach

Skeletal human remains have been found in the search for a missing woman during the cleanup of a homeless camp at Los Angeles’ Venice Beach.

Authorities say that during the cleanup, police officers responded to a report that a woman was being held against her will in a tunnel near the beach.

Officials say that the woman was not there but found a checkbook and driver’s license belonging to 32-year-old Kolby Story, who has been missing since December.

Authorities then conducted a search of nearby Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve and Ballona Creek area and found skeletal remains.

Those remains have been processed and sent to the Los Angeles County Coroner for formal identification. LAPD have not confirmed who the remains belong to.

The woman’s family and friends were involved in the search along with police officers on horseback, and K-9 units from the California Office of Emergency Services.

Meanwhile, authorities cleared out homeless encampments with city sanitation workers removing abandoned belongings.

Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin, who represents the area and could face a recall campaign, reported that 188 people had been moved from the Venice Boardwalk into shelters.

Mr Bonin launched the “Encampment to Home” programme in June, which is designed to clear the historic boardwalk of temporary shelters.

The LA City Council is spending $5million on the project, which provides temporary housing in motels before participants move into permanent housing.

Last month LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva sent deputies to clear some homeless people from the area, despite not having any jurisdiction in Venice Beach.

Earlier this month LA City Council approved an ordinance that would ban homeless camps from sidewalks and many other parts of the city.

California is now home to more than a quarter of the country’s homeless population, according to federal data.