Just before noon on October 26, 2020, authorities received a call from a lone man quail hunting in Artesia, Arizona. He told operators he had found a bag that he believed contained a body. Because there were toys near it, the hunter suspected it was a child’s body.
The location was on the property of a ranch off of Artesia Road in rural Graham County. Authorities examined the bag, which was actually a tarp partially submerged in a 4-by-2-foot livestock float box. Wrapped inside the tarp was, in fact, a human body. According to Graham County Sheriff P.J. Allred,
“Somebody had to remove the cover, put her in it and cover it back up.”
The decomposed body was determined to be that of a white female between the ages of 14 and 22. She was 5Ƈ” tall with light brown hair cut to three inches short. Exactly when she died is unknown, but it was likely in 2020. A hooded sweatshirt with skulls was found near the body, but she was wearing what was described as a “witch’s robe.”
The girl did not have any form of identification and has remained unidentified for nearly two years. Aside from being a Jane Doe, her case has been classified as a homicide. Authorities have their suspicions as to how she was killed but have yet to release any details.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has assisted the Graham County Sheriff’s Office in the efforts to identify the girl. They created facial reconstruction images of what she may have looked like when alive and released digitally enhanced photos of the clothing items, hoping someone will come forward with information.
So far, there have been no updates. Sheriff P.J. Allred remarked,
“We will figure it out. We’ll keep plugging away at it until we resolve it. Somebody wrapped it up in some stuff and put it where they put it.”
Digitally enhanced images of the sweater and “witch’s robe”
To contact the Graham County Sheriff’s Office with information call 928–428–3141 or text GRAHAMTIP to 79516.
