The head and hands of a 16-year-old girl who was last seen in 2005 has been discovered in a freezer by someone who was collecting the free appliance by the new owner of a recently sold home, police said.
The incident initially took place nine months ago on Jan. 12 when the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado received a call regarding a “suspicious incident” in the 2900 block of Pinyon Avenue in Grand Junction, approximately 240 miles west of Denver near Colorado’s border with Utah, according to a statement from the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office.
“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 offered by the new owner of the recently sold home,” police said.
It took nine months of investigation before the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office were able to release the identity of the victim of the Pinyon Avenue homicide case on Friday.
“Through DNA testing, the victim is identified as Amanda Leariel Overstreet,” law enforcement announced. “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.”
Overstreet was the biological daughter of the previous owner of the home, police said, and 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, officials said.
“The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office would like to emphasize that the home where the Pinyon Avenue Homicide investigation centered is now under new ownership, completely unrelated to the previous case,” said the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office. “The house was purchased, fully remodeled, and sold to the current owner. We urge you to respect the current owner and their neighbors’ privacy and avoid driving by the home or taking photos.”
The investigation into Overstreet’s death remains ongoing.