THE family of a teen whose dead body was found in a bonfire pit earlier this month has spoken out.
Parker League, 18, was found dead after he went on a trip to Arizona to celebrate his high school graduation.
The Nebraska native's corpse was found in Bulldog Canyon, a popular nature site about 30miles west of Phoenix, KNXV reported.
"It's hard to accept because he was the nicest kid in the world," Parker's older brother Hunter told the outlet.
Police have called the victim's death "malicious" and are searching for a suspect, KPNX's Bianca Buono tweeted.
Parker flew out of Nebraska on June 9 and was scheduled to return on June 12, the day his body was found.
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The family filed a missing persons report three days later, as they hadn't been notified about the discovery yet.
Hunter last heard from his brother on June 10.
"I knew he had a place to stay; I knew he got there," he said.
"We texted... that's about it."
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Hunter added that Parker may have been targeted because he brought an expensive watch on the trip.
After checking Parker's transaction history, the family realized someone tried to use the 18-year-old's debit card to buy food and to pay for an electric bill.
Bulldog Canyon has reportedly become a hot spot for crime, including several thefts, campers told KNXV.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Department is now stepping up its patrols in the ravine.
"I hate to hone in on this specific issue but, I mean, we're dealing with homelessness. We're dealing with just a remote area; we're dealing with areas that can only be accessed by 4x4 vehicles," Sergeant Joaquin Enriquez told KNXV.
Police are currently looking into any leads related to the case.
Investigators in New Jersey are searching for Lara Emanuele, 46, an elementary school teacher who disappeared on June 7.
They're searching a heavily wooded area next to the parking lot where her vehicle was found the following day.
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