Glendale police said they believe they have identified the remains found earlier this month following a social media post asking the public for information.
In the post to X, formerly known as Twitter, police said the remains were found in the backyard of a home near West Cactus Road on June 8. They described the person as a teenage male, about 15 to 16 years old, about 6 feet tall. tall, with brown hair. They also provided a police sketch of the body. His arms were tattooed.
Authorities said the tip that helped them identify the remains came from the person who designed the tattoos. They recognized this after seeing the reports.
Authorities said the body is believed to be that of a 16-year-old white male who was reported missing in Queen Creek. They believed the body had been in the home’s backyard since October 2023, when it was last seen.
They did not identify the cause of death, but said they believed it was self-inflicted.
Authorities said they are grateful to the public, who they say provided more than 100 tips about the incident.
Annie Goodykoontz is a reporter for The Arizona Republic. You can reach her at AGoodykoontz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared in the Arizona Republic: Glendale Police say they have identified human remains found in early June