After discovering remains in a dry wash that may belong to a missing college student, police officials began searching an Arizona desert on Thursday, The Houston Chronicle reported.
Temple police Sgt. Michael Pooley said the remains, found on Aug. 6, were discovered in a part of Apache Junction and have not been identified yet, although they share similarities with Adrienne Salinas, 19, who as been missing since June 15.
After leaving a party to go to her boyfriend's house, Salinas reportedly got into trouble and called for a cab but never showed at the location she asked to be picked up from. Pooley did not discuss the specific similarities between the remains and the missing student. Officials are currently awaiting on DNA testing.
Authorities said her car was found damaged several blocks from her apartment with two flat tires, allegedly from driving over a curb. Since her disappearance, police officials began searching a desert area near Route 88 and returned on Thursday to investigate a larger area of the desert.
"We don't know if the body was washed down in the wash or if it was dumped here," Pooley said, in reference to the recent flooding of the area.
In addition to the Temple police force, officers Apache Junction, the FBI, and trained volunteers are also helping in the search for Salinas.
"We don't know exactly what was left out here and that's why we're here," Pooley continued. "...This is a big mystery."
Salinas' father, Rick, gave up his job to commit full-time to searching for his daughter.
"It's a living nightmare...part of your life...missing," he said.
Her aunt, Dalia Job, said the family is determined to make sure nobody forgets about her missing niece.
"We don't want it to just die out and everybody forget because we are not going to forget," she said. "We are not going to forget."
