GARDNERVILLE, Nev. (AP) — Authorities in Nevada have completed a cold-case search without finding any human remains or evidence at the property of a man who was stabbed to death last summer after serving time in a California prison for a murder conviction.
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office said Thursday deputies found nothing of interest after a multi-day search at the ex-home of Kenneth Pestana in Gardnerville south of Carson City.
Pestana was convicted of second-degree murder in 1973 and later lived in Gardnerville before moving to Northern California.
A longtime acquaintance, 32-year-old Joseph Ward, was arrested in Carson City on murder charges last June a day after Pestana's body was found near Ward's cabin northeast of Nevada City, California.
Deputies say a confidential informant's tip prompted the search for human remains but no evidence was recovered and the scene has been cleared.