Pittsburg teen’s final hours and death remain a mystery

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA (Jan. 10, 2023) — Officials are still putting together the pieces swirling around a 19-year-old Pittsburg man’s disappearance on New Year’s Day and the discovery of his body alongside Highway 4 on Jan. 7.

The Golden Gate Division of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) is now leading the investigation into Damond Lazenby Jr., awaiting the Contra Costa County Coroner’s report to learn the teen’s cause of death.

The Concord Police Department initially looked into the case after being advised of an abandoned car along Port Chicago Highway linked to the teen, whose family reported him missing.

The department’s Major Crimes Unit subsequently initiated a thorough search utilizing off-road vehicles, drones, search and rescue canines, and officers and volunteers walking the area. The Contra Costa County Search and Rescue Team and resources from the California Office of Emergency Services were also involved, along with a CHP helicopter.

Loved ones actively used social media and local news coverage to keep the teen’s plight front and center after his vehicle was found in the early morning hours of Jan. 1. The family’s suspicions sparked by the suggestions that Lazenby’s vehicle was disabled and his clothing was reportedly near the vehicle could not be confirmed.

Family and law enforcement had searched the area numerous times over multiple occasions before the heartbreaking discovery down an embankment along Highway 4 east of the Port Chicago Highway overpass.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to call the CHP Investigation Tipline at 707-917-4491.