Fort Bragg Police Chief Provides Update on Body Found Under Noyo Bridge, Believed to Be Missing Teen

In a heartbreaking development, human remains believed to be those of missing 15-year-old Roy Mora were discovered Monday morning near the Noyo Bridge. Chief Neil Cervenka of the Fort Bragg Police Department spoke with KMUD News this Monday afternoon to update on the ongoing investigation…..

Summary from Tonight’s Report:

On December 23rd, at approximately 8:15 AM, a bystander near Noyo Beach alerted authorities after spotting what appeared to be human remains on the opposite side of the river, beneath the south end of the Noyo Bridge. Officers responded immediately, descending the hillside to recover the remains, which were in a condition that prevented immediate identification. The Fort Bragg Fire Department and U.S. Coast Guard assisted in recovering the remains for examination. During this process, items of clothing and jewelry were found with the body. Photos of these items were shown to Roy Mora’s mother, who identified them as identical or similar to what Roy was wearing on the night of December 7th when he disappeared.

Roy was last seen at a lighted truck parade in Fort Bragg on December 7th. Surveillance footage shows Roy walking alone onto the Noyo Bridge at approximately 8 PM that evening, with no signs of anyone following him for over 30 minutes.

The investigation into Roy Mora’s disappearance has faced several challenges, including conflicting information and complications in tracing his movements. Below are the key developments:

Rumored Vehicle Involvement

A rumor initially suggested that Roy had left in a “tan van.” However, on December 9, 2024, officers interviewed an eyewitness who confirmed that Roy never entered any vehicle. Both eyewitness accounts and video surveillance show Roy on foot and alone after the time he was allegedly seen getting into the van.

Social Media Accounts

Search warrants were executed on all known social media accounts associated with Roy. While these yielded some valuable leads, they have not yet revealed significant insights about his movements after his disappearance. Investigators discovered that Roy had shared account passwords with friends, which complicated the timeline. These accounts remained active after Roy’s disappearance, but it was determined that his friends, not Roy, were logging in.

Cell Phone Data

Roy’s phone battery died on December 8, 2024, at 2:03 AM, with its last known location near the Skunk Train railroad yard. A thorough search of the area, including the rail yard, nearby buildings, and train cars, yielded no results.

On December 17, a phone matching Roy’s description was turned in to employees at the Mendocino Cookie Company in Fort Bragg by an individual who stated that he found the phone lying in the middle of the sidewalk on the Noyo Bridge late on December 7th.

Utilizing surveillance footage from the business, officers identified and located the individual. During an interview, he stated that he had been walking north on the Noyo Bridge when he discovered the phone. He attempted to turn it on and unlock it later that night near the fire station, but after being unsuccessful, he turned it off again.

After seeing a missing person flyer featuring the phone, the individual turned it in to the business to help it reach the police. Fort Bragg Police say the subject has been fully cooperative, consenting to searches of his vehicle, property, and person, as well as providing his own phone for officers to examine its location data.

Where the Investigation stands:

The Fort Bragg Police Department is maintaining an active Incident Command Center and continues to accept tips and surveillance footage. They are working to construct a timeline of Roy’s activities in the hours before he was seen on the bridge, particularly focusing on the period between 7pm when Roy turned off his phone and 8pm when he arrived at the bridge. Chief Cervenka expressed the profound impact this case has had on the community, stating that the entire police department is devastated and grieving alongside Fort Bragg residents. He urged the public to show restraint and respect when discussing the case, particularly on social media, where some comments have been hurtful and discriminatory.

Until positive identification has been made by the medical examiner through DNA, Fort Bragg Police says it will continue to follow leads, but based on all evidence to date, there is no sign of
foul play.

Roy Mora was a transgender teenager, a demographic that faces significant challenges. According to a recent CDC study, one in four transgender youth have attempted suicide in the past year. This alarming statistic highlights the struggles many in the transgender community endure.

KMUD News asked Fort Bragg Police Chief Neil Cervenka if there were any indications or other factors that could have contributed to this tragedy. Chief Cervenka responded:

“We didn’t get any evidence of bullying or harassment that night. Roy was with friends. Nothing in the data—the cell phone data—would show that bullying was going on. I’m not saying that there was no bullying in Roy’s life at all. It was just not in that moment.

As far as the facts surrounding this, there’s some things that I just can’t discuss because they’re personal family issues—or not personal family issues, but personal to the family. It would be doing Roy a disservice, I think, to discuss them. This is not a criminal case, so we have to show some restraint and some respect.And everybody wants to know reasons why. Sometimes there is no reason—or not a reason good enough for the rest of us to accept.”

While many questions remain in Roy Mora’s case, local organizations like Queer Humboldt are emphasizing the importance of community support, education on 2SLGBTQIA+ issues, and the use of correct pronouns in affirming transgender youth.

Lark Doolan, the executive director of Queer Humboldt, shared:

“We’ve always existed. There’s nothing new about queer young people and trans young people. Specifically, what is new is for young people to have access to accurate language to describe themselves and tell us who they are at younger ages.

When a young trans person tells you who they are, believe them. Use the name and pronouns that they use for themselves. Affirm them in the person that they are telling you they are. Just by doing that, we can reduce their chance of attempting suicide by over 50%.

There are so many studies that show suicide attempts going down dramatically just by having loving adults in their lives affirming them, using the name and pronouns that they want us to use for them. It’s so simple, and it literally saves the lives of children.”

Roy’s gender became fodder for online hate. Multiple streams of comments on social media were flooded with homophobic and transphobic remarks, further compounding the pain for those close to Roy.

The hostility prompted Fort Bragg Police Chief Neil Cervenka to address the issue directly:

“The comments, the negative comments, did nothing to help Roy, the police department, and the officers. The people that viewed them are disgusted by many of the comments. It had nothing to do—and it wasn’t going to help—in finding Roy in any way.

Social media has given a voice and an audience to those that want to spread hate and are trolls on the internet just looking for fights,” Chief Cervenka stated.

Lark Doolan, executive director of Queer Humboldt, stressed that resources are available for transgender youth and their families in Humboldt and Mendocino counties. Doolan encouraged the community to take action and highlighted the importance of staying hopeful and connected:

“People ask, ‘What can we do?’ Because, you know, the first thing that haters want is for us to feel powerless, for us to be scared, for us to become disorganized. So I encourage people to get involved, get connected, and support organizations like Queer Humboldt that are providing resources like mental health care for queer youth, queer adults, and parents of queer youth.

That’s something I think a lot of people don’t realize that we do. If your kid comes out as queer and you don’t know what to do, and you’re scared and grieving and going through a really natural process that parents go through, you can reach out and get services. You can get therapy—one-on-one therapy, couples therapy, family therapy—and we use a ‘no one turned away for lack of funds’ sliding scale model for our mental health services.

I think some people don’t realize that, as a parent of a queer youth, you can access our resources in that way. So I encourage people to guard hope like it’s the last flame. It’s easy to feel hopeless and overwhelmed when so many things are sliding toward oppression on a national stage. But I want you to know there’s a lot of good happening too, and there is a lot of power building. You can be part of it.

I want to invite people to show up for our events. Get involved. Get connected. Join our newsletter so that when there are moments, we have built the power to make those moments as impactful as possible.”

The Fort Bragg Police Department encourages anyone with additional information to contact them at 707-960-4020. As the community awaits final confirmation, thoughts and condolences go out to Roy’s family, friends, and all those affected by this tragic loss.