The human remains discovered earlier this year in a recently sold home in Grand Junction, Colorado, have been identified as 16-year-old Amanda Overstreet, who had been missing since 2005. The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the heartbreaking news in a press release on Friday, October 11, revealing that DNA testing had positively identified the remains as those of Amanda Leariel Overstreet.
“Through DNA testing, the victim is identified as Amanda Leariel Overstreet,” the sheriff’s office wrote. Overstreet, the biological daughter of the home’s previous owner, “has not been seen or heard from since April 2005.” The statement added that the circumstances of her disappearance remain under investigation, as does ongoing forensic testing of evidence.
In a tragic twist, authorities also noted that there is no record of Overstreet ever having been reported missing. The grim discovery occurred in January when deputies responded to a call regarding human remains found at the home. “Deputies found the head and hands of a human, [which] had been discovered in a freezer by someone who arrived to claim the free appliance offered by the new owner of the recently sold home,” the sheriff’s office explained.
The remains were found during a clean-up of the property by the new owners, who had offered the freezer and other items left behind for free. In July, the sheriff’s office characterized the case as a homicide, although details about Overstreet’s cause of death remain unknown. The Mesa County Coroner’s Office performed an autopsy, but further information regarding her death and the investigation has not yet been released.
Neighbors were shocked by the discovery, including Sam Troester, who told local NBC affiliate KUSA about the events that led to the remains being found. “It turns out that the new owners of the house posted online that they were looking to sell a bunch of the garbage that was left behind, scrap metal and things that people could repurpose,” Troester recalled. “And there was a deep freezer that was posted up for grabs.”
As investigators continue to piece together the mystery of Amanda Overstreet’s disappearance and death, her tragic story has shaken the Grand Junction community. The case, which had remained in the shadows for nearly two decades, is now the subject of an active investigation, as authorities work to uncover the truth behind her disappearance and identify those responsible for her death.
