Two teens were found dead in a remote section of an Arizona national forest less than a week into their summer vacation — as police are treating their deaths as “suspicious.”
The horrifying scene unfolded when the bodies of Pandora Kjolsrud, 18, and Evan Clark, 17, were discovered in the Tonto National Forest near Mount Ord on the morning of May 27.
Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office officials revealed the teens suffered from fatal gunshot wounds without providing further information.
“At this time, the circumstances surrounding their deaths are being treated as suspicious,” Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Joaquin Enriquez said, according to Fox 10 Phoenix.
The Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office listed both deaths as homicides, which were dated May 26.
Kjolsrud and Clark were friends and attended Arcadia High School in Phoenix, approximately 64 miles southwest of the national forest.
The teens’ friends created a makeshift memorial near Mount Ord, where the two would go and watch the sunset, the outlet reported.
“You just cherish all the memories and the laughs,” Clark’s coworker Iara Rosales said. “His life was cut very short, and so was Pandora’s. They were very young, and it was just so sudden and a tragedy that you wouldn’t even imagine.”
Fundraisers were set up to help both teens’ families fund celebrations of life after they held private funerals.
Kjolsrud was remembered for her “vivacious personality” and smile.
“She was a beautiful human being and a bright light in this world who loved every single person she met and had a unique ability to make every person feel special,” Kathryn Leonard said on GoFundMe. “The outdoors is where she truly felt at home. She loved camping, horseback riding, kayaking and hiking with friends and family.”
Kjolsrud’s mother, Simone Kjolsrud, said her heart was shattered into a million pieces after learning of her daughter’s death.
“Rest in peace my beautiful girl,” the grieving mother wrote on Facebook.
Clark’s mother, Sandra Malibu Sweeney, penned a touching tribute to her son on a separate GoFundMe.
“Evan Clark was my only child and my beloved son. This last week Evan was taken from me, and my level of grief feels insurmountable. I find myself at a complete loss to imagine a life without him. It is a small comfort to share some things about this boy who was on his way to becoming a wonderful man,” Sweeney wrote.
Sweeney described her son as an “old soul who was sensitive and loving.
“Evan wrote me letters, the last of which he gave me on Mother’s Day that was so touching it made me both laugh and cry. He was special. He deserved a long life,” she said.
The frightening murders have caused fear in the local hiking community, where hikers are questioning whether the remote national forest is safe.
“If there’s something going on in the area. I’m here with my child. I’d like to know if we’re safe,” one community member told Fox 10.
“Obviously respecting the people’s families and not get into those personal details, but I would want to know how we can all be safe,” another said.
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