Death of Alhambra Man Found By Whitewater River Still Unexplained

Three months after an Alhambra man was found dead next to the Whitewater River near Whitewater Cutoff Road, his death remained unexplained and investigators in Cabazon were seeking answers.

The body of Paul Otto Kluge, 48, was located by cadaver dogs during an organized search early Dec. 5, four days after deputies found his rented car in the same area.

Detectives at the Riverside County sheriff's Cabazon Station and investigators with the Coroner's Office consider the death "suspicious," officials at both agencies said Tuesday.

"We don't have anything to indicate it was a criminal act," sheriff's Sgt. Sean Bahash said in an interview Tuesday at the Cabazon Station. "We also have no indication that he died of natural circumstances."

Evidence indicated Kluge had gone into the river, which was running up to 6 feet deep at the time, and he'd come out of the river, Bahash said.

"His clothes were wet," Bahash said. "He did have some superficial injuries as if he'd tumbled along the rocks in the swifter-moving water."

Detectives this week were still waiting for results of an autopsy, Bahash said.

About noon on Wednesday, Dec. 1, deputies from the Cabazon Station found a silver Hyundai Accent parked next to Whitewater Cutoff Road, north of Interstate 10 and near the Whitewater River.

Deputies determined the Hyundai had been rented by Kluge, and they learned it had been parked at the same location since Sunday, Nov. 28. Kluge's wallet and unspecified personal belongings were in the unlocked car.

Deputies contacted Alhambra police, and investigators found no signs of foul play and no signs that Kluge was distraught.

No one in Alhambra came forward to report Kluge as missing. But based on the circumstances, Cabazon Station investigators decided to enter Kluge into a national missing person database.

Deputies and investigators from the Cabazon Station then initiated a ground search of the area, with the help of aircraft and a trained bloodhound. They found no sign of Kluge and issued a public missing person bulletin on Dec. 3.

On Sunday, Dec. 5, the Sheriff's Department organized a more intensive search, with volunteers and personnel from the Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit, Desert Search-and-Rescue, Blythe Search-and-Rescue, the Sheriff’s Posse, Palm Springs police, and San Bernardino and San Diego counties.

Within minutes of starting the search, cadaver dogs located a body near the edge of the Whitewater River, about 2/10 of a mile from where Kluge's vehicle was parked, Bahash said.

Coroner officials positively identified the body as that of Kluge. An autopsy did not initially indicate the cause of death, Bahash said.

Whitewater and the area where Kluge's body was found are in the east end of the San Gorgonio Pass, about 90 miles east of Los Angeles.

Anyone with information about Kluge was urged to call Cabazon detectives at (951) 922-7100 or Riverside County Sheriff's dispatchers at (800) 950-2444.