Human remains found within 2 days of each other in Maricopa County

Authorities are investigating the discovery of human remains found within days of each other in Maricopa County.

At about 7: 15 a.m. Monday, officers were called about human remains thought to be found on a remote part of a mountain around the mountainous Deem Hills Recreation Area in north Phoenix, according to police. The remains were located by investigators with the county medical examiner, who collected them for processing and identification, police said.

The investigation is ongoing, police added.

When asked Tuesday by The Arizona Republic, Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Brian Bower did not confirm or deny whether the found remains were skeletal, as reported by a TV station.

On Tuesday, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office said they were conducting a homicide investigation just north of 32nd Street and Cloud Road in Cave Creek. On Thursday, the bodily remains were identified as 26-year-old Victoria Hahlen.

A Sheriff's Office spokesperson said evidence at the scene prompted a homicide investigation. Detectives are actively investigating this incident.

Like the Phoenix case, a likely cause or manner of death was not given.

The town of Cave Creek, in a Tuesday statement, said the area was closed due to "a Police situation."

The Cave Creek area of investigation on Tuesday is about 18 miles to the northeast of the Deem Hills Recreation area, where Phoenix police were investigating on Monday. Police have not announced any connection between the two sets of remains.

In early August 2023, 34-year-old Oregon resident Jessica Christine Lindstrom was found dead in the Deem Hills Recreation area after having gone missing during a hike. Heat was to blame for Lindstrom's death, a fire department spokesman said at the time.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Human remains found within 2 days of each other in Maricopa County