Dead man. Stretcher. Dolores Park.
Police officers carry a dead man on a stretcher, escorted by a man carrying a bouquet of roses, on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021, at 6:08 p.m. at Dolores Park near Dolores and 20th streets. A man selling roses attempted to give one to officers after a picnicking man nearby bought a rose to give. (Photo courtesy of Dorian Salvador)

Update on Oct. 7, 2021: The man was Bobby Antwan Munn Jr., according to a death certificate obtained by Mission Local. A second story is in the works, and you may contact the author with any information at david@missionlocal.com .

Amid the usual festivities of a typical Saturday afternoon at Dolores Park, an unexpected sight cropped up over the weekend: A dead man in the bushes near the playground. 

At around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, officers arrived at Dolores Park and located a man among the bushes near the playground, said Officer Robert Rueca, a San Francisco Police Department spokesman. 

The officers summoned medics, who pronounced the man deceased, Rueca said. 

Officers found no evidence of foul play; the Medical Examiner is investigating the cause of death, Rueca said. Messages for the Medical Examiner have not yet been returned.

Zoe Soter, a resident in the neighborhood, said she saw the Medical Examiner’s truck in the late afternoon. 

The body was found behind and above the swings of the Helen Diller Playground, said a neighbor who asked to remain anonymous. Police officers surrounded the spot to keep onlookers away, and the body was eventually lifted over the railing and taken away.

Helen Diller Playground. Dolores Park.
The Helen Diller Playground was barricaded off on the morning of Sept. 14 for improvements. A dead man was discovered over the weekend in the bushes above and behind the swings. Photo by David Mamaril Horowitz

“I just felt awful for whoever it was, passing away,” the neighbor said.

The area was closed off this morning for playground improvements, the resident said.

This is a breaking story and will be updated as possible.

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David’s one of those San Francisco natives who gets excited whenever City College is mentioned. He has journalism degrees from there and San Francisco State University, graduating from the latter in May 2021. In college, David played five different roles as an editor at student news publications and reported as an intern for three local newspapers, mostly while waiting tables at the Alamo Drafthouse. His first job was at Mitchell's Ice Cream.

REPORTER. Eleni is our reporter focused on policing in San Francisco. She first moved to the city on a whim nearly 10 years ago, and the Mission has become her home. Follow her on Twitter @miss_elenius.

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7 Comments

  1. hey this is gonna sound weird cause i’m a kid but me and my friends actually found this man and told an adult to call the police and it sound like someone else found it but it was actually me and my friends so if we never told an adult this wouldn’t have happened

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  2. This coukd have possibly been a freind of mine did they identify the body yet?

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    1. Hello Tim,

      The man was Bobby Antwan Munn Jr. I’m collecting information for a second story. If you’d be open to connecting further, please feel free to reach me at david@missionlocal.com.

      Sincerely,
      David

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  3. He was barely released from jail for a simple theft by Police and supposedly died in this park. Foul play happened as he was only 2 blocks away from his bf’s house. He was never even into swings or the park. Something sinister happened. Anyone with cameras facing this park, please report it.

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  4. I suppose we wouldn’t want the reporter to make things up. Maybe folks knew him and will come forward.
    Lots of drug overdoses these days. I wake people up on a regular basis and carry NARCAN.

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  5. I agree with the gentleman up above! We’re just left to guess what the hell happened to the poor guy? Why even bother reporting it to the public if you tell us nothin!!!

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  6. No circumstances mentioned at all? Just going to leave that up for wild speculation? I mean is homicide suspected, homeless person of old age, accident? Etc

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