Human remains found in backyard of Litchfield Park home: Avondale PD
Police dig up 2 bodies at missing AZ family's home
Avondale police found two unidentified bodies in the backyard of a missing Litchfield Park couple. Their 27-year-old son, Matthew Flores, fled the country and is a suspect.
LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz. - A shocking development occurred Thursday in the case of a family of three missing from their Litchfield Park home, with the discovery of human remains in the backyard.
What we know:
"Our Avondale Police detectives, with the assistance of the Phoenix Homicide Unit, are in the process of recovering two unidentified bodies in the backyard of this residence," said Avondale Police Department Public Information Officer Daniel Benavidez.
The adult son of the couple who lives there, 27-year-old Matthew Flores, was named a suspect in their disappearance.
"All I can say is that he fled the country," Benavidez said.
(Earlier Coverage) Search underway for missing Litchfield Park family
Avondale Police are investigating the suspicious disappearance of three family members after discovering signs of foul play during a welfare check. FOX 10's Nicole Krasean reports.
What they're saying:
Investigators have not yet identified the remains and are not naming the missing couple at the family’s request. But neighbors said the family has always seemed pleasant.
"The dad there, we see him every once in a while, he’s very, very friendly but we don’t talk too much just whenever we see him, we say hello," said neighbor Alec Rogers.
Matthew Flores
"Mostly the people that come outside [are] just the older couple," another neighbor added.
Police say a welfare check requested by family members launched the investigation Tuesday.
"Family members of this residence called us reporting that they expected their mother, father and adult son to be at the residence. Upon arrival to the residence, our Avondale police officers did not locate anyone inside the residence," Benavidez said.
Dig deeper:
The evidence found inside the home alluded to foul play,
"A large amount of blood, and evidence to us that there was an attempt to conceal that," Benavidez said.
Though police could not state how long the family has been missing for, or how long the remains had been in the yard.
Neighbors ‘spooked' as detectives dig up backyard
Rogers told Fox 10 he did hear a disturbance in the area of the home Tuesday morning.
"There was a little bit of yelling and I don’t know exactly who from," he said.
Those who saw investigators digging in the backyard from their homes call the whole thing disturbing.
"We were pretty spooked by it. We didn’t know that was going on just right behind my younger sister’s window. I never thought anything like this would go on around here," a neighbor said.
What we don't know:
Avondale police say those human remains have not been identified, so it’s not yet clear whether they are the remains of the couple police are searching for. They could not state why they believe Matthew Flores fled the country, only that he is a suspect in the case. Anyone with information on his whereabouts should contact Avondale police.
The Source: Information for this article was gathered from the Avondale Police Department and local neighbors.