Investigators say marks on Joanna Shields’ neck were caused by insects, but her death is still being treated as suspicious while toxicology tests continue.
BIG SUR, Calif. — The death of Joanna Ruth Shields, a 37-year-old Carlsbad woman found near Sykes Hot Springs in the Ventana Wilderness, remains under investigation after Monterey County authorities said marks on her neck were caused by insect activity, not strangulation, while toxicology results are still pending.
The update narrowed one of the most talked-about details in the case but left the central question unanswered: how Shields died in a rugged and popular backcountry area near Big Sur. The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office has continued to describe the case as suspicious, though officials now say foul play has not been determined. No one is in custody, and investigators have said they need lab results before the coroner can make a final ruling on cause and manner of death.
The known timeline begins on April 9, when California State Parks and Monterey County sheriff’s deputies were told that a body had been seen near Sykes Hot Springs in the Los Padres National Forest. Deputies were flown into the area that evening with help from the California Highway Patrol’s H70 Air Unit and located the body, but difficult weather and terrain slowed the recovery. Search-and-rescue crews brought the body out by ground the next day. Four days later, Sheriff-Coroner Tina Nieto publicly identified the woman as Shields, of Carlsbad. Hikers who had been finishing a two-night trip on the Pine Ridge Trail told local television station KSBW that they came upon her body that Thursday morning. Gabe Holmes, one of the hikers, said Shields appeared pale and had visible marks around her neck. He also said a firefighter later pointed out what looked like a significant wound on her head.
The account from those hikers quickly shaped public reaction, in part because of what they said happened next. The group told KSBW they encountered a man on the trail who said he was Shields’ friend. John Heerema said the man looked cold, shaken and dazed. His brother, Luke Heerema, said the man told them Shields had gone to wash herself in the river around 10:30 a.m. and that he later found her facedown in the water and without clothes. The hikers said they passed that information to first responders. Officials have not publicly identified the man or said whether he is considered a witness, a person of interest or neither. They also have not publicly confirmed his version of events. Those gaps have left much of the case in an early stage, with witness accounts in public view but official conclusions still limited.
The clearest official development so far came on April 17, when sheriff’s office spokesman Andres Rosas said the marks seen on Shields’ neck were not signs of strangulation. Rosas said the coroner determined the injuries were consistent with insect activity and that ants may have been involved. He also said the case is still being treated as suspicious even though foul play has not been established. That distinction matters because it shows investigators have not ruled out criminal conduct, accidental death or another explanation. Rosas said that if the cause of death had been obvious, officials would likely have already reached a conclusion. Instead, he said, the examiner needs toxicology results before making a final determination. The sheriff’s office has not publicly described any other injuries in medical terms, has not released an autopsy report and has not said whether water, trauma, drugs, alcohol or a medical emergency may have contributed to Shields’ death.
The setting adds to both the mystery and the difficulty of the investigation. Sykes Hot Springs is one of the best-known backpacking destinations in the Ventana Wilderness, reached by the Pine Ridge Trail from the Big Sur Station area. The route is scenic but rugged, and officials said poor weather made the body recovery difficult enough that deputies needed helicopter support and search-and-rescue teams on foot. In the first public hours of the case, the sheriff’s office temporarily closed the trail to people entering from Big Sur Station while crews worked the scene, though officials also said there was no current threat to hikers or campers in the area. The site’s remoteness helps explain why investigators have moved carefully and why public updates have come in steps: first the discovery, then the identification, then the explanation for the neck markings. The larger question of how Shields died has taken longer.
Outside the investigation, friends and co-workers have described Shields as an energetic outdoor enthusiast whose death has shaken people who knew her in Southern California. She was remembered in television interviews and on a fundraising page as someone drawn to nature, movement and community. Jeff Anning, founder of Evolve Skateboards, said Shields had been part of the company’s broader skate family for years and had helped bring more women into the e-skating community. She had worked as a brand ambassador and was known, he said, for kindness and enthusiasm. In one interview, Anning said Shields “just had so much energy” and was always putting other people first. Those remembrances have given the case a human frame beyond the unanswered forensic questions, especially because the public record still contains so few hard conclusions about her final hours.
For now, the legal and procedural track is limited to investigative work, not court action. Detectives remain the lead investigators, and the sheriff’s office has continued to ask anyone with information to contact Detective R. Geng. Rosas told reporters that no one was in custody as of mid-April and that toxicology testing could take six to eight weeks or longer. Until those results are returned, the coroner is not expected to issue a final cause and manner of death. That means the next major development is likely to come from the lab, unless investigators identify new witnesses, recover additional evidence from the trail area or decide to say more about the man the hikers reported meeting near the scene. As of Wednesday, none of that had happened publicly.
The case now stands in an unusual place: one suspected clue has been discounted, the death is still considered suspicious and the most important findings have yet to arrive. Officials have clarified what the neck markings were not, but they have not yet said what killed Joanna Shields or whether anyone else played a role. The next milestone is the toxicology report, which investigators have said is still weeks away.
Author note: Last updated April 22, 2026.