Authorities have confirmed that the human remains found in a freezer at a Colorado residence are those of a 16-year-old girl.
Earlier this year in January, body parts were discovered in a freezer at a home in Grand Junction, Colorado, prompting a police investigation.
On October 11, officials updated the public, stating that the remains have been identified as those of a teenager who was last known to be alive nearly 20 years ago but was never officially reported missing.
The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office reported receiving a call about a ‘suspicious incident’ on January 12.
Upon arriving at the 2900 block of Pinyon Avenue, deputies found ‘the head and hands of a human had been discovered in a freezer by someone who arrived to claim the free appliance offered by the new owner of the recently sold home’.
The investigation continued for nine months, and the Mesa County Coroner’s Office has now confirmed that DNA testing identified the remains as belonging to Amanda Leariel Overstreet.
The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office stated: “Amanda is believed to have been approximately 16 years old at the time of her disappearance. Overstreet has not been seen or heard from since April 2005.”
“Amanda Overstreet was the biological daughter of the previous owner of the home.”
“The circumstances surrounding her disappearance remain under investigation, as well as ongoing forensic testing of evidence. There is no record that Amanda Overstreet was ever reported missing.”
The coroner’s office’s statement on Facebook notes that the ‘remainder’ of Amanda’s body has yet to be ‘recovered’, and the case is still an ‘active investigation’ as a homicide, with no further details being released at present.
Wendy Likes, public information officer for the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office, has asked the public to allow authorities ‘some time and some grace to figure out what happened’.
She told CPR News: “We still have a lot of forensic testing that we need to do on evidence and a lot of interviews still to complete.”
“[…] We want to do the best job for her. A child went missing and there’s no record that anyone reported her missing, and that’s very sad. So we want to be sure that it’s a thorough investigation, that we get all the details and the facts right.”
The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office has ’emphasized’ that the home where this case is based is ‘now under new ownership completely unrelated to the previous case,’ urging the public to ‘respect the current owner and their neighbor’s privacy and avoid driving by the home or taking photos’.
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