AZ - Emily Pike, 14, found dismembered in rural Gila County, last seen in Mesa, 27 Feb 2025

Was she considered a runaway all the 2+ weeks before her remains were found? I was under the impression there would have to be a confirmed sighting of a missing child to be considered a runaway, but I don’t know the standards in AZ. What time is she believed to have died?
The original post on the Mesa PD page said Missing/Runaway. I assume they pegged her as a runaway because she was in a group home, but I have no idea what evidence they used to come to that conclusion beyond that.

They haven't released time of death as far as I can tell. They hadn't even released date of death the last time I looked.
 
If she was SA'd, there should hopefully be dna.
Still wishing she was spared that.
Hope to god they can nail the perps.
Sounds like there are more than one as yet-unnamed persons of interest ?

Rest easy, young Emily.
I am so sorry this horror happened to you. 😢
 


why does this bring another level of horror when the roomate says she was probably hitchiking and got picked up by the wrong person, sends a chill that I cannot handle.
 
<modsnip - quoted post was no link/rumor>
I personally remember at least 3 cases within the last year of teens running away from group homes and being found deceased, one was a suicide, something needs to be done to ensure the safety of these young people. I would also like to learn more about the system. Sounds like Emily may have just wanted to go home :(
 
Last edited by a moderator:
March 4/5, 2025 article


[…]

On Monday night, another teen was not at the same group home. Police were called and people volunteered to search the area. Within hours, the teen reportedly returned to the home safe. The ordeal highlights the difficulties of missing persons cases and how they can put communities on edge.

[…]
 

“The possibility that this is somebody who enjoys doing this type of thing is a horrible possibility,” said Jim Egleston, a retired FBI special agent.

“Somebody who committed this kind of murder, do we believe this is their first time killing?” asked True Crime correspondent Briana Whitney.

“Probably not. I would say and they probably are older, just the fact they have to have the means to get out there in some kind of transportation,” said Egleston.
 
So sad for this poor girl.
I used to work in a group home for teenage girls. It only had 4 girls at a time. We weren’t allowed to lock them in, but the main gates would be locked at 9pm. If they wanted to leave before that, we had to let them, but we had to file a missing persons report within 30 minutes. These girls would come and go so often the police didn’t take the reports seriously. The whole system was a mess.
Just wondering if group homes in the US are similar.
 

As of Friday night, there are no persons of interest, suspects or arrests. Some of Emily's remains remain missing, though investigators have stated there is no active threat to the public. 12News asked GCSO how they can assure public safety while the suspect remains at large.

“We don't have anything that we could point to to say, yes, public should be concerned. Yes, it is concerning when you have a body that that turns up like this, you know, that in and of itself would be of concern. But as far as a serial killer, which is something we were asked about before, do we think this is a serial killer? We don't have any evidence or anything to indicate that this is part of a series of murders," Lahti said.
 

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