Missing teens case in Hemet takes gruesome turn

The case of three missing Hemet teens took a gruesome twist today as police announced charred human remains were found in a makeshift grave in the home where one of three lived.

Investigators have not been able to determine whether the remains are in any way connected to the disappearance of the three 17-year-olds, said Lt. Dean Evans Wednesday during a morning news conference held outside the Bluejay Way home of one the teens. (Photo by Jose Arballo)

Investigators have not been able to determine whether the remains are in any way connected to the disappearance of the three 17-year-olds, said Lt. Dean Evans Wednesday during a morning news conference held outside the Bluejay Way home of one the teens.

As Evans spoke, a slew of investigators and evidence technicians combed the home and backyard where police found some human remains last week while looking into a missing-persons report on Jose Campos, Evans said. Adrian Rios, 17, and Campos’ girlfriend, Felicia Sharpe, 17, are also reported missing.

The fragments were analyzed by a forensic pathologist and determined to be human, Evans said.

“These were small fragments,” Evans said. “It was not like we were talking like there was a whole body.”

Investigators returned to the home Tuesday evening with a search warrant and began looking for more evidence. Early this morning investigators began digging in the backyard of the home and found what they described as a makeshift grave, Evans said.

At this point, he said, “it is unclear whether the human remains have any connection to the three missing juveniles.”

There is evidence that the remains have been partially charred and there are reports that there had been a bonfire in the backyard a week before, he said.

Evens said it is too early to say how long the remains have been in the backyard.

Investigators have started excavating the backyard and expect to be at the home all day.

The home is located in a normally quiet neighborhood near West Valley High School along the city’s southern end. There is an elementary school nearby. During the morning, police tape sealed off the street in front of the home and several news vans were parked along the street. Several neighbors and passerbys gathered in small groups talking amongst themselves.

Evans said investigators are still looking for the three and have no way of knowing whether their disappearance is connected to the remains.

“Right now we know there are remains in the backyard and the juveniles are still missing,” Evans said. “It is way too early to speculate on whether any of this is connected.”

He said investigators needed to wait until Wednesday morning so they could use the daylight to help in the search. He said the makeshift grave was just being excavated and investigators would likely search the entire backyard for evidence. Several times during the morning, technicians brought out bags of evidence from the home and backyard. The driveway was cluttered with items apparently removed from the garage and inside the home.

Tags: Adrian Rios, Felicia Sharpe, hemet, hemet police, Jose Campos, Lt. Dean Evans, SWRNN, west valley high school

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 at 11:02 am and is filed under Courts, Crime, Local News, News . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.