A disturbing discovery in Southern California has triggered a homicide investigation, just blocks from where a man disappeared two weeks earlier.
Authorities, however, have not said the two cases are connected.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said Tuesday that detectives are investigating the deaths of two people after human remains were found in Lancaster, a remote city in the Mojave Desert.
The remains were discovered near 50th Street East and Avenue F, where a large law enforcement operation unfolded at a property filled with debris, recreational vehicles and what appeared to be the remnants of an old greenhouse.
Aerial video showed investigators excavating the property while evidence markers surrounded the site. Authorities also set up a canopy where photographs and other evidence appeared to be gathered.
Witnesses said they saw cadaver dogs searching the area.
“Based on the circumstances surrounding the discovery, the case is now being investigated as a homicide,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
“Homicide investigators are in the early stages of investigating the scene.”
Officials declined to release the victims’ identities or information about how they died, saying the details were being withheld “to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation.”
MORE ON THIS: Former ‘American Idol’ Contestant’s Emotional Reaction Caught on Camera After Wife’s Tragic Death
The sheriff’s department provided no further information.
Video obtained by KTLA showed investigators digging a large hole as the search continued at the property.
The discovery was made near where 61-year-old Ricky Allen Phillips vanished two weeks ago. Authorities have not indicated that Phillips is among the people found or that his disappearance is related to the homicide investigation.
According to an LASD missing-person bulletin, Phillips was last seen Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, in the 44900 block of 10th Street W in Lancaster.
The sheriff’s department listed Phillips as an “at-risk missing person” and said his family was “concerned for his well-being.”
Phillips is described as 5 feet, 7 inches tall, weighing 230 pounds, with black hair and green eyes.
The close proximity of the cases has drawn public attention, but authorities have released no evidence linking Phillips’ disappearance to the homicide investigation.
