4-YEAR SEARCH MAY END; SKELETON COULD BE MISSING MUSICIAN'S.

Byline: Daily News Staff and Wire Services

Skeletal remains found in the wreckage of a minivan that plunged down a 200-foot ravine may be those of Iron Butterfly bassist Philip Kramer, whose disappearance four years ago has never been solved, police said on Sunday.

The 1993 Ford Aerostar matches the description of the van that Kramer was driving when he disappeared Feb. 12, 1995. The remains were being examined by coroner's investigators Sunday and no official identification had been made.

But Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies were optimistic they finally had a break in the 4-year-old Kramer mystery.

``We think it's the van,'' Deputy Dan Jarvis said.

The wreckage was spotted Saturday evening by a hiker photographing wrecked cars in a ravine about 300 feet below Decker Canyon Road. Because of the rough terrain, the remains were not recovered until Sunday morning.

The ravine is a popular dumping ground for stolen cars, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Bruce Thomas.

It is not yet clear whether the driver died when the car went off the side of the road or whether foul play was involved.

``It has been so many years since this person died,'' Thomas said, that skid marks would be gone even if there was no foul play.

Kramer, who was 42 when he disappeared, was last seen leaving his home in the Thousand Oaks area to pick up a friend at Los Angeles International Airport. His wife, Jennifer, said she talked to him twice on a cellular phone - the second time about noon - on the day he vanished.

He achieved fame in 1975 as a singer and bass player with Iron Butterfly, which had several incarnations with various band members. The band's most famous song was the 17-minute ``In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida'' in 1969.