Body parts found in a freezer have been identified as belonging to a 16-year-old girl who went missing almost two decades ago.
Officers from the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office made the gruesome discovery after responding to reports of a suspicious incident in January of this year.
Upon arrival, deputies found the head and hands of a human had been discovered in a freezer by someone who arrived to claim the free appliance – which was being offered by the new owner of the recently sold home.
On Friday the Mesa County Coroner’s Office released the identity of the victim as Amanda Leariel Overstreet, following DNA testing.
Overstreet was thought to have been around 16-years-old at the time of her death, but had not been seen or heard from since 2005.
The DNA records show that 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, according to the sheriff’s department.
The teenager’s death is now being investigated as a homicide and the rest of her body has not yet been found.
In a follow-up post on Friday, the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office emphasized that the home where the body parts were discovered is now under new ownership, and is “completely unrelated to the previous case.”
“The house was purchased, fully remodeled, and sold to the current owner,” the department wrote on X.
“We urge you to respect the current owners and their neighbors’ privacy and avoid driving by the home or taking photos.”
