Body parts found in Colorado freezer identified as 16-year-old girl missing since 2005

(CNN) — The human head and hands found in the freezer of a Colorado home in January have been identified as belonging to a 16-year-old girl who had been missing for nearly 20 years, according to local authorities.

Amanda Overstreet was identified as the victim through DNA testing, according to a news release issued Friday by the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office. The teen’s head and hands were found in the freezer of a recently sold home in Grand Junction, Colorado, on January 12.

The remains were discovered by someone who came to the home to collect the freezer for free, the sheriff’s office said.

Overstreet, who was believed to be “approximately 16 years old at the time of her disappearance,” had not been “seen or heard from since April 2005,” according to the sheriff’s office. She was the daughter of the previous owner of the house.

There is no evidence that Overstreet was ever missing, and “the circumstances surrounding her disappearance remain under investigation,” the sheriff’s office said.

CNN has contacted the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office for more information on Overstreet’s disappearance.

Previously, authorities said they believed the discovery was an “isolated incident” and that there was no ongoing threat to the community.

The sheriff’s office has not released whether the cause of death has been identified.

A neighbor recalled seeing Overstreet walking to school before he disappeared, according to CNN affiliate KJCT.

“The last time we saw the little girl was on her way to school,” Jameson Perez said.

“We were all guessing who it was,” he said of the discovered remains. “We started wondering, ‘Was that the little girl that was there?’ »

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. company. Discovery. All rights reserved.