Missing men found dead in truck in rural San Luis Obispo County

June 28, 2025

By KAREN VELIE

Nearly three weeks after two men died in a crash on Highway 166 in San Luis Obispo County, officers found their truck and bodies.

On June 6, James Fuller, 61, and his brother Eric Fuller, 60, left New Cuyama on their way to a doctor’s appointment in Santa Maria, but they never arrived. Family and friends reported the men missing on June 10.

“We have filed a missing person’s report with the local sheriff’s department, yet we’ve been told there is not enough ‘probable cause’ to classify them as at risk missing person, despite the fact that my father is terminally ill and in need of medical care,” according to a family member’s Facebook post. “We also requested air patrol over Highway 166, a remote and potentially dangerous route, but were informed that further evidence is needed to justify an aerial search.”

On June 18, as part of a San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office investigation, California
Highway Patrol units and a fixed-wing aircraft were deployed along State Route 166 near New Cuyama in an attempt to find the missing men. Despite extensive search efforts,
neither the men nor the vehicle were located at that time.

On June 25, a Caltrans employee was conducting routine duties along State Route 166 near mile post marker 39 when they discovered an overturned vehicle concealed in heavy brush down an embankment. The truck was not visible from the roadway.

Emergency personnel discovered that two adult males sustained fatal injuries
in the crash. Identification of the decedents is pending confirmation by the San Luis Obispo County Coroner’s Office.

The vehicle involved in this crash is linked to the missing persons investigation.

“We are deeply saddened to confirm that two individuals tragically lost their lives in a traffic crash,” according to the CHP Commander Sean Kelly. “Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with their families and loved ones during this difficult time.”