Colter White, Sean Pfeffer Obituary, Death – Authorities have confirmed that two men found in the back of an abandoned pickup truck in the Santa Cruz Mountains last week were victims of homicide. The victims, identified as 54-year-old Colter White and 45-year-old Sean Pfeffer, were both from Boulder Creek. Family members confirmed their identities, with Pfeffer’s sister, Nicki Dorris, speaking from Texas about the devastating news.
“It’s awful just knowing that he was in the back of an abandoned truck,” Dorris said. “Somebody had to put him there. Was he alive at the time? I don’t know. It’s just terrible.”
Initially deemed suspicious, the case has now been officially classified as a homicide by California Highway Patrol (CHP) investigators. The pickup truck where the bodies were found was towed away on Tuesday afternoon.
Residents of Boulder Creek expressed their shock over the violent crime. “It’s pretty crazy,” said local resident Zach McKay. “I didn’t know them personally, but it’s definitely shocking.” Another resident, Doug Spilman, noted that such an incident was highly unusual for the area. “I might have seen something similar 30 years ago, but this is very odd,” he said.
On Monday, the Santa Clara Medical Examiner released the cause of death for both men. White died from multiple gunshot wounds to his torso, upper left body, and lower extremities. Pfeffer suffered a fatal gunshot wound to his left chest.
A potential lead in the investigation comes from a social media post Pfeffer made just two days before his body was discovered. The post, which investigators are examining closely, may have predicted his own fate and even mentioned a possible suspect. However, authorities have not publicly identified any suspects, and the name in Pfeffer’s post has been blurred out.
Pfeffer’s family is pleading for answers. “Nobody deserves this,” Dorris said. “Boulder Creek is a close-knit community. Somebody knows something. This needs to be solved so we can have closure.”
Investigators continue to search for leads as they work to determine what led to the tragic deaths of White and Pfeffer.
