Mystery as six people are found 'shot dead' in a remote California desert community just off the highway – with a gray minivan parked on the roadside near their bodies
- Five people were found dead in El Mirage, California, around 8:16 PM on Tuesday
- A sixth body was discovered Wednesday morning
- It is unclear how they died, but there are reports that they were all shot
A mystery has unfolded when six people were found dead along a remote desert road in California.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said the bodies were found Tuesday around 8:16 p.m. after responding to a welfare check along Highway 395 in El Mirage.
Authorities initially reported that five bodies had been found, but a sixth was discovered Wednesday morning.
Police scanner reports showed the people were found near the intersection of Shadow Mountain Road and Lessing Avenue, Victor Valley Newsgroup reported.
Helicopters were on standby to assist at the scene, but when authorities realized the victims were all dead, they were called off.
It is unclear how the victims died, but there are reports that they were all shot when bullet holes were found in the rear window of the gray minivan parked along the road.
Six people were found dead in El Mirage, California, around 8:15 PM on Tuesday. A gray minivan was found next to the bodies
“Investigators from our Specialized Investigation Division responded to the scene to conduct the investigation,” the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department told DailyMail.com
Since the gruesome discovery, the area has been cordoned off and access has been restricted as officials begin their investigation.
The identities of the victims have not yet been released and no arrests have been made Fox 11.
'Researchers from our specialized research department arrived on site to conduct the investigation. Further information will be released as it becomes available,” the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department told DailyMail.com
The bodies were found about 15 miles north of Adelanto and about 20 miles north of Victorville.
On December 23, an out-of-town family discovered the body of a relative in a chest freezer in San Diego.
The family alerted San Diego police, who launched an investigation into the death along with the homicide unit.
The identity of the person has not been made public nor the cause of death, but officials have said the body is a woman.
“It's very surprising and scary and it gives me chills because I've never heard anything like it before,” neighbor Ana Marie Mierau told ABC San Diego.
The bodies were found along Highway 395 in El Mirage, about 15 miles north of Adelanto and about 20 miles north of Victorville.
It is unclear how the victims died, but there are reports that they were all shot
On December 23, an out-of-town family discovered the body of a relative in a chest freezer in San Diego.
“I started seeing the police everywhere, and I thought, 'That's a big thing,'” said another, Teresa Morrison.
“Essentially, family members from out of town were at a home and found a body in a chest freezer. The body is believed to be that of a female, but other physical details such as age or race cannot be confirmed until identification is made,” San Diego police said in a statement.
The house in question is a three-bedroom home spread across 1,300 square feet in the Allied Gardens section of San Diego. Its value is approximately $900,000.