Latest news with #MaricopaCounty
New York Times
12 hours ago
- General
- New York Times
Police Seek Answers in Fatal Shooting of Teen Campers in Arizona National Forest
Nearly a week after two teenagers were found fatally shot in what police believed to be homicides at a remote camping spot in Arizona, it was still not clear what had led to their deaths, deputies said on Monday. The teenagers — Pandora Kjolsrud, 18, and Evan Clark, 17 — were high school friends who just finished the 11th grade and had gone camping at Tonto National Forest after the end of the school year, according to relatives. On May 27, deputies in Maricopa County responding to a call found their bodies off State Route 87 between Mesa and Payson, Ariz., the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and the medical examiner's office said on Monday. They 'lost their lives due to gunshot wounds,' a statement from the sheriff's office said. 'At this time, the circumstances surrounding their deaths are being treated as suspicious,' the statement said, adding that they were treating the killings as homicides. Medical examiner's records said that Ms. Kjolsrud and Mr. Clark had died on May 26. There were no further details. A spokesman for the sheriff's office, Sgt. Joaquin Enriquez, said in an email on Monday that the bodies were found near Mount Ord, a mountain in Tonto National Forest on the northeastern edge of the county. People camp in the wilderness in that area because there are no developed campgrounds. There was no further information on Monday as the homicide investigation continued, a separate statement from the sheriff's office said. Simone Kjolsrud said in a brief telephone conversation that her daughter had been a student at Arcadia High School in Phoenix. A representative for the family said in a statement that Pandora loved camping and being outdoors and that they were 'heartbroken' by her loss. Sandra Sweeney, Evan's mother, said in a phone call on Monday that her son had left for to the remote area on May 25 at the start of summer break at Arcadia High School. She added that after she did not hear from him for several days, she drove up to the mountain to search. 'I decided to go to the location where my son was, drove to the top and saw nothing,' she said. She learned on Tuesday that he had died, she said. Ms. Sweeney said she and her son were close. In his last letter to her on Mother's Day, he wrote: 'You are the best mother and I'm forever in debt and grateful to you.'
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Influencer Emilie Kiser files lawsuit to shield the public from 'graphic' details of three-year-old son's drowning
Social media influencer Emilie Kiser, 26, has filed a lawsuit against multiple agencies in Arizona to block the details of her three-year-old son's death from the public. Kiser's son died on May 18 six days after he was found unresponsive in a backyard pool in Arizona, according to Chandler Police Department. Kiser is a popular mommy blogger with four million followers on TikTok and frequently shares her life as a mother on the platform. The influencer filed a lawsuit using her maiden name, Henrichsen, on Tuesday against the City of Chandler, Chandler Police Department, Maricopa County, the county's medical examiner's office, and other agencies to permanently block public access to records related to her son, Trigg's, death. The lawsuit said that Kiser was 'going through a parent's worst nightmare right now' and the family 'desperately wanted to grieve in private.' 'Trigg's death has become a media frenzy. Appallingly, 100+ public record requests have been filed with both the City of Chandler and the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office,' the lawsuit continued. 'Emilie is trying her best to be there for her surviving son, two-month-old Theodore. But every day is a battle,' the suit said. Kiser's attorneys argued that the records presumably contain 'graphic, distressing, and intimate details' of the toddler's death. They continued that public access to the records 'has no bearing on government accountability.' 'To allow disclosure in these circumstances would be to turn Arizona's Public Records Law into a weapon of emotional harm, rather than a tool of government transparency,' the lawsuit added. The suit said that Kiser or her representation haven't reviewed the police report, security camera footage, scene photos, 911 recording, or autopsy photos. Kiser's lawyers added that the records weren't available to them, and the influencer doesn't intend to ever view the documents. In response to the lawsuit, Jason Berry, the director of communications for Maricopa County, which was named as a defendant, told NBC News, 'When Maricopa County learned the family was pursuing a court order to prevent the release of these records, the Office of the Medical Examiner worked with the family to place a seal on the record.' Kiser's son, Trigg, died on May 18 after a drowning incident at the family's home on May 12. A neighbor told at the time that the influencer's house was swarmed with five police cars after the incident. Emergency responders arrived and performed life-saving efforts until Trigg was airlifted to Phoenix Children's Hospital for specialized care. Kiser hasn't posted since the tragedy, but her followers flooded her accounts with messages of support and condolences before she turned off her comment sections. The Arizona influencer and her husband, Brady, became parents to Trigg in July 2021. The couple revealed they were having another child in September 2024, posting a photo of Kiser's sonogram with the caption, 'WE GOTTA BABY GROWING.' 'We can not wait to add another angel to our family. Whatever you are, we love you so much already.' In March, the family announced the arrival of their second son, Teddy, writing on Instagram, 'We love you so much and our hearts feel like they are going to burst.'
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Influencer makes desperate bid to shield public from details of three-year-old son's drowning
Social media influencer Emilie Kiser, 26, has filed a lawsuit against multiple agencies in Arizona to block the details of her three-year-old son's death from the public. Kiser's son died on May 18 six days after he was found unresponsive in a backyard pool in Arizona, according to Chandler Police Department. Kiser is a popular mommy blogger with four million followers on TikTok and frequently shares her life as a mother on the platform. The influencer filed a lawsuit using her maiden name, Henrichsen, on Tuesday against the City of Chandler, Chandler Police Department, Maricopa County, the county's medical examiner's office, and other agencies to permanently block public access to records related to her son, Trigg's, death. The lawsuit said that Kiser was 'going through a parent's worst nightmare right now' and the family 'desperately wanted to grieve in private.' 'Trigg's death has become a media frenzy. Appallingly, 100+ public record requests have been filed with both the City of Chandler and the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office,' the lawsuit continued. 'Emilie is trying her best to be there for her surviving son, two-month-old Theodore. But every day is a battle,' the suit said. Kiser's attorneys argued that the records presumably contain 'graphic, distressing, and intimate details' of the toddler's death. They continued that public access to the records 'has no bearing on government accountability.' 'To allow disclosure in these circumstances would be to turn Arizona's Public Records Law into a weapon of emotional harm, rather than a tool of government transparency,' the lawsuit added. The suit said that Kiser or her representation haven't reviewed the police report, security camera footage, scene photos, 911 recording, or autopsy photos. Kiser's lawyers added that the records weren't available to them, and the influencer doesn't intend to ever view the documents. In response to the lawsuit, Jason Berry, the director of communications for Maricopa County, which was named as a defendant, told NBC News, 'When Maricopa County learned the family was pursuing a court order to prevent the release of these records, the Office of the Medical Examiner worked with the family to place a seal on the record.' Kiser's son, Trigg, died on May 18 after a drowning incident at the family's home on May 12. A neighbor told at the time that the influencer's house was swarmed with five police cars after the incident. Emergency responders arrived and performed life-saving efforts until Trigg was airlifted to Phoenix Children's Hospital for specialized care. Kiser hasn't posted since the tragedy, but her followers flooded her accounts with messages of support and condolences before she turned off her comment sections. The Arizona influencer and her husband, Brady, became parents to Trigg in July 2021. The couple revealed they were having another child in September 2024, posting a photo of Kiser's sonogram with the caption, 'WE GOTTA BABY GROWING.' 'We can not wait to add another angel to our family. Whatever you are, we love you so much already.' In March, the family announced the arrival of their second son, Teddy, writing on Instagram, 'We love you so much and our hearts feel like they are going to burst.'
CBS News
23-05-2025
- CBS News
Arizona hiker Hannah Moody's body found off trail day after she was reported missing
The body of a hiker was found off a trail in central Arizona Thursday some 16 hours after she was reported missing, Scottsdale police say, calling it a "heartbreaking development." The department says an investigation into Hannah Moody's death is underway, though there are "no obvious signs of foul play or trauma at this point." Hannah Moody in an undated photo. Scottsdale, Arizona police According to Scottsdale police, Moody's body was spotted at about 12:05 p.m. near the Gateway Trailhead of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale. She was first reported missing at around 7:50 the evening before by friends who got concerned because they hadn't heard from her. Responding officers found her vehicle in the parking lot. Attempts "to reach her by phone or ping her cellphone were unsuccessful. Officers began search efforts on foot, with drones and assistance from a Phoenix Police Department helicopter," Scottsdale police said. The search went on until about 11:30 p.m., when it was suspended for the evening. It resumed in the morning "with 20-plus officers on bicycles, on foot, with drones, and with the assistance of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office search and rescue team and air unit," Scottsdale police said. "Other individuals showed up and assisted with the search efforts as well. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Air Unit located Hannah's body around 12:05 p.m., about 600 yards off-trail." Scottsdale detectives and crime scene personnel are carrying out a thorough probe to try to figure out what happened to Hannah and how she died. The Maricopa County medical examiner's office will attempt to determine the cause of death.
Washington Post
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Taxpayers in metro Phoenix still footing the bill for Joe Arpaio's immigration crackdowns
PHOENIX — Twenty years ago, when Arizona became frustrated with its porous border with Mexico, the state passed a series of immigration laws as proponents regularly griped about how local taxpayers get stuck paying the education, health care and other costs for people in the U.S. illegally. Then-Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio gladly took up the cause, launching 20 large-scale traffic patrols targeting immigrants from January 2008 through October 2011. That led to a 2013 racial profiling verdict and expensive court-ordered overhauls of the agency's traffic patrol operations and, later, its internal affairs unit.
