The bodies have been buried under rocks, clues point to homicide

Jun 5, 2013 09:37 GMT  ·  By
Authorities are aiming to identify five people whose bodies were dumped in the Arizona desert
   Authorities are aiming to identify five people whose bodies were dumped in the Arizona desert

The remains of five people were found in the desert in Arizona, prompting an investigation by local police. Officials believe that the skeletal remains belong to homicide victims.

According to KVOA, the bones were recovered near Sells, Arizona by Border Patrol agents during the morning of May 28. They were wrapped in plastic and dumped 10 miles (16 km) south of Highway 86.

The inquiry has been taken over by the Tohono O'odham PD, and what's left of the bodies has been transported to the Pima County Medical Examiner's office. Dr. Greg Hess informs that a forensics team will be working on the case this week.

The Customs and Border Protection office issued a press release, but no information on the murder victims has been made available at this point.

"On May 28 at approximately 11 AM Casa Grande Border Patrol agents discovered skeletal remains near the town of Sells Arizona and contacted the Tohono O'odham Police Department. TOPD is the lead investigative agency," a spokesperson states.

The victims may have been Mexican immigrants, as local authorities have contacted the Mexican Consulate to discuss the case.

Little is known about them, except for the fact that one of them is a woman. Documents were recovered next to the bones, police reports add.

Since they were retrieved from the area near milepost 100 by South Mountain, officials have dubbed the deaths suspicious. Criminal activity has been recorded in said area on numerous occasions.

The region is riddled with reports on drug transport and sale as well as human trafficking, the Border Patrol details.

The Christian Post adds that the bodies have been covered by rocks, in what appears to be a burial attempt. Some of the bones were picked by animals, though.

"It's not a typical migrant death site. Usually that's people laying under a tree because it got too hot, and they're on the surface of the ground and nobody tried to bury them," Hess says.