UPDATE: Body of Missing East Bay Student Found

Walnut Creek police learned Saturday that the remains of James Abriel, the 19-year-old from Orinda who had missing for nearly two weeks, were found in a Sonoma County park.

Santa Rose police notified detectives in Walnut Creek police about 10:50 a.m. that Abriel's body had been found in Annadel State Park, where more than 60 law enforcement personnel had been searching. It appeared that the Sonoma State University student died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His parents, who live in Orinda, have been notified.

On Friday, Walnut Creek police detectives joined personnel from several other law-enforcement agencies, including the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Search and Rescue Team, in looking for Abriel, who was reported missing to Walnut Creek police April 25.

Abriel, who had left several suicide notes and was despondent over a recent breakup, was last seen in Walnut Creek, and police believe he had a 40-caliber Sig Sauer handgun that was missing from a Walnut Creek home.

The search centered on the 5,000-acre Annadel State Park, at the northern end of Sonoma Valley and north of the town of Sonoma, because Abriel's white Toyota Camry was parked in a residential area near the park's entrance, said Walnut Creek police Sgt. Tom Cashion. The car was coated in dust, indicating it had been parked there for several days.

Taylor Dickinson, a friend of Abriel's, he seemed fine before he left.

"He was just typical, normal James," Dickinson said. "I'm really concerned, and I didn't know how to react. I knew that they had broken up before, but he said it was for the best."

Deputies from the Contra Costa and Marin County Sheriff's departments helped in the search. Helicopter crews flew over the park Friday. Cashion said the search also nvolved adjacent to Spring Lake Regional Park, with helicopters, dogs and all-terrain vehicles.

In an interview Thursday with KGO Radio Newstalk 810, Abriel's mother, Evangeline Abriel, said her son loved the outdoors and probably would have disappeared into a wooded area. "He's a good son, a good student with a 4.0 GPA," she said.

Abriel was last seen in Walnut Creek on April 21 and on campus April 14, just before spring break, police said.

Police said they discovered several suicide notes on April 25 detailing a recent breakup and dated April 14. One of those notes was found in Walnut Creek, the others at Sonoma State.

Police traced phone calls Abriel made from Santa Rosa on April 25 and an ATM card or credit card he used in Rohnert Park on April 22.

Rohnert Park Patch writer contributed to this report. Check back later for more details.