Third teen death in national forest raises alarm as two high schoolers found shot during camping trip

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High school students Pandora Kjolsrud and Evan Clark were discovered deceased in a secluded part of Arizona on May 27. This incident represents the second and third teenager fatalities in Tonto National Forest since February.

The teenagers, Kjolsrud, 18, and Clark, 17, were found shot dead on May 27 near Mount Ord in Tonto National Forest, located north of Mesa, Arizona. A Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office representative informed Fox News Digital that these deaths are being treated as homicides.

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office confirmed it is “actively” looking into the deaths but refrained from offering further information. According to Fox 10, the students from Arcadia High School were on a camping trip when they were found shot to death.

The remains of Emily Pike, 14, were found on Feb. 14 in Tonto National Park, 19 miles north of Globe, Arizona. She went missing from a group home in January, according to Fox 10, which reported her death was treated as a homicide. Her body was found dismembered more than 70 miles away from the group home she was reported missing from.

Emily Pike on a couch

Emily Pike went missing in January. (FBI)

“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,” the GoFundme stated.

In a message attached to a fundraiser, Sandra Malibu Sweeney, Clark’s mother, said that he “wasn’t a typical teenager.”

“He was funny, bright, kind and entrepreneurial. He was 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.”

A community member who spoke with Fox 10 said she wants answers about Kjolsrud and Clark’s deaths.

Pandora Kjolsrud fishing

Pandora Kjolsrud was 18 years old. (GoFundMe)

“It’s really scary that it’s just so close to home and then their family. That’s the next thing you think about. It’s like, what are they going through? What happened to them? Are they going to get answers?” one community member said.

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