Stanislaus County Sheriff’s detectives were investigating a suspicious death at an address in the rural area of Oakdale on the 9500 block of Pioneer Avenue on Monday morning, Feb. 9.

Details are limited but according to sheriff’s officials they received a call of a 34-year-old male that was found unresponsive inside a vehicle on the property. He was declared dead at the scene.

It was not immediately clear how long the man had been there and investigators did not reveal how the man had died.

During the morning, investigators had the front yard of the small country home cordoned off with crime scene tape as detectives searched for clues. By 2 p.m. they had left the scene.

When contacted at the residence, a woman who only identified herself as a “caretaker for an elderly gentleman at the home,” stated there had not been any violent incidents at the property and all the residents were fine.
“We’re in great shape here,” she said. “Everything is OK.”
She declined to expand on the death and referred further questions to the sheriff’s department.

A resident down the street, who did not want to be identified, said his wife told him of emergency vehicles at the house around 7 a.m. that morning.

“It looked like a crime scene with all the crime tape and red lights,” he said.

He said he did not know the current occupants of the home.

Various sources informed The Leader that the deceased was Dustin “Dusty” Brummel, 34, of Modesto.

Different social media sites also had comments stating the victim was Brummel.

“He was a cousin to my husband,” said Laurie Koch of Oakdale on Tuesday. “We have very limited information and just know he was found dead. We’re waiting for the autopsy to tell us something.”

The sheriff’s department is still investigating the case.