Adrienne Salinas -Tempe Az. missing 19 yr. old 6/15/13

[BabsKats]

http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/story/23102149/2013/08/10/search-continues-for-adrienne-salinas

Posted: Aug 10, 2013 10:39 PM CDT
Updated: Aug 10, 2013 11:12 PM CDT



TEMPE, Ariz. - It's been two months since anyone has seen 19-year-old Adrienne Salinas. The Tempe woman disappeared after leaving a party. She was headed to her boyfriend's house, ran into trouble, called a cab and vanished. Those closest to Adrienne are not giving up hope on finding her.

The FBI is on the hunt for the young woman -- and her family continues to ask the public for any help in locating their loved one.

"There's still a beautiful young lady that is missing.. that someone would come forward and give us more information," said Adrienne's father, Rick Salinas.

Rick gave up his day job to work full time to find his daughter.

"It's a living nightmare.. part of your life.. missing," he said
 

One month ago, several dozen people showed up.  Just a handful were there on Saturday.

"We don't want it to just die out and everybody forget because we are not going to forget.  We are not going to forget," said Dalia.

Rick waits for more people to show up and pass out flyers to keep his daughter's face alive in the minds of all.

"I'm just torn apart.  My heart's broken. I got to do this to keep the story alive so people know it's still unsolved."

There is a $10,000 reward for information leading to Adrienne's whereabouts. 


 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/08/15/missing-arizona-student/2660285/
Body found could be missing Ariz. student, police say
August 15, 2013


APACHE JUNCTION, Ariz. — Skeletal remains found in this area might be those of a 19-year-old college student missing since June 15, authorities said Thursday.

Adrienne Salinas, the 19-year-old college student who has been missing from Tempe since June 15, authorities announced early Thursday morning.
Tempe, Ariz., police are working with Apache Junction police and the FBI to search an area where a property owner found the remains Aug. 6. Several homes are near where the body was found.

Apache Junction officers did an initial investigation but called Tempe police the following day because the remains, which were badly decomposed, were similar in size and stature to GateWay Community College student Adrienne Salinas.

"We don't know where the body came from," said Sgt. Mike Pooley, a spokesman for the Tempe Police Department. The area had significant flooding July 21.

More than 100 people, including volunteers, are searching a wide area, concentrating on 6 miles of a wash and private property around the streambed that is dry except after heavy rains. Apache Junction with a population of almost 37,000 is about 30 miles east of Phoenix and 20 miles east of Tempe.

Salinas' family was informed last week about the discovery, but police didn't release any information because of concerns about evidence.

The remains were sent to the Pima County medical examiner. Checking the DNA will take about a week, according to authorities.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57598731-504083/adrienne-salinas-update-remains-found-in-ariz-desert-have-similarities-to-missing-college-student-police-say/
Adrienne Salinas Update: Remains found in Ariz. desert have "similarities" to missing college student, police say
August 15, 2013

(CBS/AP) Skeletal remains discovered last week in Apache Junction, Ariz. have similarities to 19-year-old Adrienne Salinas, a college student who went missing in June, CBS affiliate KPHO reports.
The remains were first found Aug. 6 on the eastern outskirts of the Phoenix metropolitan area, though investigators only recently publicized the discovery.
 
Dozens of law enforcement officers were searching Thursday through the Arizona desert in the area where the badly decomposed remains were found.

Officials said the remains were female and they appeared to be of similar weight and height as Salinas, but they didn't elaborate. Authorities will use DNA testing to aid in identifying the remains.

Police have searched the desert area near State Route 88 several times since the initial discovery and returned Thursday to search a larger area.
The searchers walked in a line, an arm's length apart, using shovels to look under sand and dirt that washed over the area in flooding from a recent storm.

Tempe police Sgt. Michael Pooley said investigators believe the body likely was dumped in another location and was later washed downstream.

"We don't believe the body was dumped there," Pooley said of where the body was found.

The body was found by a man who was walking his property and was drawn to the area by vultures he saw.

Video at Link

[MuffyBee]

http://www.northjersey.com/news/national/Police_Remains_may_be_from_missing_Arizona_student.html
Police: Remains may be from missing Arizona student
August 15, 2013

APACHE JUNCTION, Ariz. (AP) — Dozens of law enforcement officers on Thursday searched through the Arizona desert after badly decomposed human remains that may be those of a missing college student from Tempe were found in a dry wash.

Tempe police Sgt. Michael Pooley said the remains found Aug. 6 in a sparsely populated part of Apache Junction on the eastern outskirts of the Phoenix metropolitan area haven't been formally identified but that they have similarities with Adrienne Salinas, 19.

Pooley declined to elaborate on the similarities and said police are awaiting the results of DNA testing.
 
Police have searched the desert area near State Route 88 several times since the initial discovery and returned Thursday to search a larger area. News helicopter video showed searchers using shovels to dig and scrape in various places.

The wash is dry now but it was flooded by a major storm in recent weeks, Pooley said. "We don't know if the body was washed down in the wash or if it was dumped here."

He said the searchers included Tempe and Apache Junction police, FBI agents and trained volunteers. They're looking for clothing, jewelry and any other evidence, he said.

Police will contact residents who live in homes in the area about whether they heard or saw anything suspicious or had surveillance video.

"We don't know exactly what was left out here and that's why we're here," Pooley said. "... This is a big mystery."

[BabsKats]

Thankyou Muffy, this case hasn't gotten a lot of attention and I've been watching for any info thru-out the month.  For her fathers sake I hope he finds some closure if this is in fact Adrienne.

[MuffyBee]

Thankyou Muffy, this case hasn't gotten a lot of attention and I've been watching for any info thru-out the month.  For her fathers sake I hope he finds some closure if this is in fact Adrienne.

You're welcome.  I hope her father finds the answers he needs. 

[klaasend]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/15/investigators-confirm-remains-are-those-missing-ariz-college-student/


Investigators confirm remains are those of missing Ariz. college student
Published August 15, 2013
Associated Press

APACHE JUNCTION, Ariz –  Investigators have confirmed that badly decomposed human remains found in the desert are those of an Arizona college student who disappeared two months ago.

Tempe Police spokesman Michael Pooley says the state Department of Public Safety laboratory on Thursday identified the remains as 19-year-old Adrienne Salinas.

Pooley says investigators conducted a large-scale search of the area in Apache Junction where the body was found on Aug. 6 by a homeowner. Investigators will be back in the area Friday to continue searching for clues.

 

[klaasend]

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_southeast_valley/tempe/adrienne-salinas-update-family-confirms-body-is-missing-19-year-old

Adrienne Salinas update: Tempe police confirm body is missing 19-year-old

Posted: 5:28 PM
Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

    By: abc15.com staff

TEMPE, AZ - Police have confirmed a body found in a desert wash in Apache Junction is that of missing 19-year-old Adrienne Salinas.

Tempe police Sgt. Michael Pooley said DNA confirmation was made by the Arizona Department of Public Safety lab.

Searchers spent the day Thursday combing the area near Highway 88 and Lost Dutchman Boulevard for clues into the victim's identity and death.

Pooley said the skeletal remains were discovered in a wash on August 6 by a property owner.

The remains were taken to the Office of the Medical Examiner in Pima County for identification.

Thursday’s search stopped around 12:30 p.m. due to the heat. Investigators with the Tempe and Apache Junction police departments and the FBI will resume searching for evidence in the area again early Friday morning.
 

[MuffyBee]

Thank you for posting the confirmation article and moving the thread Klaas.   

It's sad for the family to know Adrienne is gone now, and I'm sure they have many, many questions.  I hope there is enough evidence to help find answers. 

[MuffyBee]

Um, yeah.  I would saying finding a missing person's remains would definitely qualify as a "promising lead".  The title to the article just strikes me as odd.  JMHO 


http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Police-get-promising-lead-in-woman-s-disappearance-4735234.php
Police get promising lead in woman's disappearance
August 15, 2013

APACHE JUNCTION, Ariz. (AP) — Investigators who have had little luck in unraveling the mystery of an Arizona college student's disappearance two months ago came across their most promising lead Thursday when a badly decomposed body found in a remote area was confirmed to be that of the missing student.

The remains were formally identified as 19-year-old Adrienne Salinas following testing at the state Department of Public Safety laboratory.

Tempe police Sgt. Michael Pooley said investigators will return to the scene Friday to seek out clues into who killed the college student.

Until the body was found, police had little go on, other than cellphone records showing calls she made to her boyfriend and a call to a taxi company. Investigators searched a lake in Tempe, canvassed her neighborhood on multiple occasions and interviewed hundreds of people. Salinas' family handed out fliers in hopes of getting a break in the case.

The Gateway Community College student was seen by her roommates leaving their Tempe apartment in the early morning hours of June 15. She had packed a bag and told them she was headed to her boyfriend's home in Scottsdale.

The boyfriend showed investigators he had 11 missed calls from Salinas around 4:15 a.m. the day she vanished, along with a text message that indicated she was on her way to his home, according to a police report. The boyfriend said she never arrived.

The next day, police found Salinas' car about a block from her apartment. The doors were locked, the overnight bag she packed was gone, and there were no signs of a struggle. The car had front-end damage and two flat tires.

The police report said a woman told authorities she saw a similar car at about 3:40 a.m. the morning Salinas vanished speeding and moving erratically before it crashed into a curb, blowing out two tires. She said she pulled over and attempted to approach the vehicle, but the driver sped off. Pooley said the driver of the damaged car is believed to be Salinas.

Authorities say Salinas called for a taxi from her cellphone at about 5:05 a.m. on June 15, but the arriving driver never found her, and her phone was soon turned off.