UPDATE: Plunge Creek Body ID'd as Missing Person Dante Ratliff of Rialto

Investigators have identified the body of a man found Sunday morning in a remote part of the Plunge Creek watershed north of Highland, the Sheriff's Department announced Thursday.

The victim was identified as Dante Duvall Ratliff, 37, who was reported as a missing person in Rialto in July 2012, deputies said.

"The investigation is ongoing and remains a death investigation," a statement from the sheriff's Homicide Division said.

The death was reported about 9:30 a.m. Nov. 25 when a hiker called sheriff's dispatch about partially decomposed body in Plunge Creek, Jodi Miller of the Sheriff's Department said.

The area was about two and a half miles north of Highland and it was accessible only by hiking in or by helicopter, Miller said.

The Plunge Creek watershed includes steep ground below Running Springs and Highway 330 east of City Creek.

Anyone with more information was urged to contact Detective AJ Gibilterra or Sergeant Trevis Newport of the Homicide Division at (909) 387-3589. Callers wishing to remain anonymous may contact the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-78-Crime or at www.wetip.com.

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