Human remains found in AZ desert could be missing man: police

Brandon Parish, then 19, was last seen by family members in Meadview, Arizona, on Feb. 3, officials said. It is believed that his remains were recently found.

With thanks to Rebecca Parish



Human remains of a missing 19-year-old man are believed to have been found in Arizona three years after his disappearance, deputies said.

“This is the worst thing a parent can experience,” Brandon Parish’s mother, Rebecca Parish, told McClatchy News on May 6.

The remains were found May 1 in a “remote desert area” near the Meadview Overlook, the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.

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Brandon Parish was last seen on Feb. 3, 2021, in Meadview, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.

Family members were in a vehicle when Parish shot at it after an “altercation” and then walked away, the missing persons database said.

Rescuers searched for him with ATVs after that incident, but Parish was never found, according to a Facebook page dedicated to finding him.

Then around 9:43 a.m. on May 1, deputies responded to a report of the discovery of human remains, authorities said.

The medical examiner will leave the identification details

“Evidence at the scene” led authorities to believe the remains belonged to Parish, deputies said.

The medical examiner will officially confirm the identity and cause of death, deputies said.

There were no signs of foul play and the investigation is ongoing.

His mother said he was her only child and “my world.”

“Please keep his family close to your hearts as they process this heartbreaking discovery,” someone wrote on the Find Brandon Parish Facebook page.

Meadview is located in northwestern Arizona, near the Arizona-Nevada border.

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Helena Wegner is a McClatchy National Real-Time Reporter covering Washington State and the Western Region. She holds a degree in journalism from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She is based in Phoenix.