THE BRONX — A man who disappeared from his California town in 2004 was found dead in a wooden crate with a bullet through his head at a Throgs Neck marina Monday, police said.
James Michael Brannon, 60, was wrapped in a black plastic bag and decomposing when investigators discovered him in the Locust Point Marina at 140 Reynolds Ave., near Harding Avenue, about 12:14 p.m., an NYPD spokesman said.
The Medical Examiner ruled his death a homicide Thursday, police said. There were no immediate arrests and the circumstances of his death weren't immediately clear.
Brannon's brother, Thomas Brannon, said he disappeared from Pismo Beach, California, in 2004, officials said.
He had lived in Bozeman, Montana, in 1997 so the brother alerted local authorities there, according to Captain Jason Jarrett of the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office.
"His brother wanted a report for information should local law enforcement make contact," Jarrett said.
It wasn't immediately clear what Brannon was doing for the 12 years before he was found dead.
