A multi-agency probe is under way as authorities seek witnesses who may have seen the victim jogging early Sunday morning. Investigators believe Huynh left Creekview Residence Hall between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. for his customary hour-long jog. He is believed to have been running alone and no one to date has been able to give a complete description of the route he took.
Police investigators obtained one statement suggesting Huynh was seen running west on Granite Avenue toward L.K. Wood Boulevard around 7:25 a.m. However, no conclusive information or evidence has emerged as to Huynh’s exact route or what happened to him in the 90 minutes between his departure from Creekview and his return to the residence hall at about 8:30 a.m., a key timeline disclosed from examination of electronic door records.
Huynh apparently suffered unspecified but serious injuries. The gravest appears to have been internal bleeding in the skull. Despite questioning by his roommates, the HSU senior gave no explanation for his injuries Sunday. When his condition worsened, roommates drove him to Mad River Community Hospital where Emergency Room staff began immediate treatment. Huynh was still unable to give a statement about events or his injuries. He lost consciousness, never to regain it, leaving investigators with little to go on. He was subsequently airlifted to Redding, where he died.
The same morning Huynh was injured, UPD recovered an abandoned and damaged bicycle near the base of the steep Creekview roadway, about 500 feet below Huynh’s residence hall room, first observed by Creekview staff at approximately the same time he was believed to have gone jogging. After collecting the bike, ascertaining the damage to it and picking up other physical evidence found at the scene, police now believe an unreported bicycling accident may have occurred at the base of Creekview hill. Investigators are actively probing if Huynh somehow sustained his injuries in connection with this evidence.
Investigators remain open to other explanations, ranging from an undiagnosed medical condition, causing Huynh to fall, to injuries suffered at another, still unknown location. The UPD investigative team is actively seeking witness information and the public’s help in reconstructing, to the extent possible, his route on Sunday morning. The authorities have issued a plea for assistance and information, specifically seeking contact with anyone who saw Huynh anywhere Sunday morning.
The deceased is described as having worn a long-sleeved green sweatshirt and green sweatpants without ornamentation. He was about 5’ 4” tall, weighed 110 pounds, and had short black hair and dark eyes.
“There is someone out there who saw him running, or maybe even gave him a lift home after he was injured,” said UPD Chief Thomas Dewey. “Any piece of information, no matter how seemingly small, might be the key to understanding exactly where Huynh went and how he was injured.”
UPD is leading the investigation, assisted by Department of Justice criminologists, the California Bureau of Investigation, California Highway Patrol, the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office, the Arcata and Redding Police Departments and the coroner’s offices in both Humboldt and Shasta Counties.
A multi-agency team will gather in Redding early next week for an autopsy, further examination of physical evidence and analysis of the deceased’s medical records.
Anyone with information is urged to call UPD at (707) 826-5555 or email the department at HSUPD@humboldt.edu