For Immediate Release

Lieutenant Jim Byers

On 8/27/16 at 12:24 am, Correctional Officers working in the El Dorado County Jail found inmate Dennis Renk (39 years old) unresponsive in his cell.  Renk has been in custody since November 6^th, 2015, when he was arrested on charges of homicide after an altercation in Camino.

Renk was immediately treated by Correctional Officers, Jail Medical Staff, and transferred into the care of El Dorado County Fire Paramedics and he was transported to Marshall Hospital for further treatment.

The Sheriff’s Office initiated the Critical Incident Protocol, which is common with all in custody incidents of this nature.  Taking this action activates a multi-agency investigative team comprised of Sheriff Detectives, District Attorney Investigators, CHP Investigators, South Lake Tahoe PD Detectives, and Placerville PD Detectives), and provides for complete impartiality in the investigation.

At 4:13 pm, Renk was pronounced deceased by hospital staff.  The cause of his death is under investigation by the Critical Incident Protocol Team and by the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office Coroner Unit.

For Immediate Release

Sergeant Tasha Thompson

The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office is continuing to search for leads regarding the mysterious disappearance of Justin Bonderer. Justin would have recently celebrated his 36th birthday and is missed by his family and friends.

Justin has been missing since April 6, 2015, under suspicious circumstances. Justin is a white male adult, 36 years old, about 5’ 11” tall, 180 pounds, with short brown hair and brown eyes. Justin was a long time resident of Georgetown before moving to Camino with his then girlfriend. Detectives were able to track Justin up through April 7th, 2015, where he was last seen in Placerville, possibly on his way to Camino.

School Threat Resolved
On 8-26-16 an El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office School Resource Officer (SRO) received information that a student had made threats via Snap Chat that he was going to “shoot up the school”. Deputies responded to Oak Ridge High School and detained a 14 year old male student. The investigation revealed that he had not brought a firearm to school. The investigation is ongoing into the reason for the threats. The Sheriff’s Office would like to assure parents and students that the response to this incident was swift and at no time were students placed in an unsafe learning environment. The Sheriff’s Office strives to keep all students safe and will investigate any threats of this kind to determine they’re legitimacy. The student was arrested and booked into Juvenile Hall for terrorist threats.