Archaeology Team Discovers Montecito Victim Jack Cantin’s Remains

​Danielle Kurin, a University of California anthropologist, led a team of students to search and locate the remains of Jack Cantin, an Eagle Scout who died in a mudslide at Montecito in January 2018. The remains of the 17-year-old were recovered in 2021, three years after the Montecito landslide, which claimed the life of his dad, Dave Cantin. Lab analysis confirmed the remains to be those of Jack Cantin. 23 people lost their lives, and 150 people were injured when a heavy downpour swept rocks, mud, and burnt debris from a previous wildfire downhill, affecting a coastal settlement east of Santa Barbara. Four hundred hundred homes were destroyed during the mudslide that dominated national news after a previous wildfire that had affected the same area where top celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Dick Wolf, and Ellen DeGeneres reside. According to the victim’s mother, Kim Cantin, the teenager’s remains were discovered within 1,000 feet of where the family home once stood.

After the mudslide, quick action from first responders saved the lives of Lauren, Jack’s younger sister, from the sludge and debris. However, neither Jack Cantin nor two-year-old Lydia Sutthithepa were recovered despite relentless efforts to find them. After an extended unsuccessful search from community volunteers, Kim Cantin decided to seek expert assistance from the University of California Santa Barbara anthropology department. Her case was taken up by Danielle Kurin, an assistant professor and Director of the Walker Bioarchaeology & Forensic Bone Lab, and her team of research assistants. The team utilized their expertise using techniques such as bone biogeochemistry, x-ray fluorescence, and flouring absorption analysis to find the teenager’s remains. Dr. Kurin and her team secured the scene as an archaeological investigation and limited their search to a 110-acre search area using coroner’s reports, old archival records, photos, videos, and witness testimonials.

Danielle Kurin

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