Body of teenage girl found in La Mesa ID’d; police are asking the public for information about the death
A 17-year-old girl whose body was found earlier this year in La Mesa has been identified and police are asking the public for information about the circumstances leading to the death.
The teenager has been identified as Cassidy Hopwood of El Cajon, La Mesa police said.
La Mesa Police Lt. Katy Lynch said the girl’s death was fentanyl-related and foul play was not suspected.
The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office had been working on the case since March 13, when the body was discovered behind a business on El Cajon Boulevard near Baltimore Drive. The body bore no identification when found.
Police later learned that the girl was reported missing at the El Cajon Police Department. Lynch said in a press release that investigators spent time with the girl’s family last week and learned new information that they believe “could help us determine the circumstances that led to her death. “.
The press release did not reveal what information police were referring to, but said the department was asking for the public’s help as the investigation continues.
“The La Mesa Police Department remains committed to seeking answers for Cassidy, her family and friends,” police said in a statement.
Anyone with information about the death has been asked to call the La Mesa Police Department at (619) 667-1400 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at (888) 580-8477.
County officials say at least 812 people died from fentanyl overdoses in 2021, and another 825 people died from the drug in the first six months of this year.
In August, the US Department of Justice reported that more deadly fentanyl was being seized by border agents in San Diego and Imperial Counties than at any of the country’s more than 300 ports of entry, calling the region of “epicenter of fentanyl trafficking in the United States.”
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