November 25, 2024

El Mirage scene where 6 bodies found in San Bernardino County desert suggests horrifying ending

Mirage #Mirage

Two days after investigators left the scene, the remote location where the bodies of six people were found in San Bernardino County on Tuesday still reveals grisly relics from their demise, juxtaposed against a spectacular desert vista.

Charred vehicle glass, near where burned bodies were spotted by television helicopter cameras, sat in the dirt on El Mirage off-road trail 4652 on Friday, Jan. 26. Just feet away, splotches of blood soaked into the ground. And hundreds of feet of yellow crime scene tape lay atop the sagebrush and unpaved road.

  • Charred vehicle glass was one of the few signs remaining...

    Charred vehicle glass was one of the few signs remaining on Jan. 26, 2024, that six people had been shot to death in the San Bernardino County desert near the community of El Mirage on Jan. 23. Some of the bodies had burned, according to media reports. (Brian Rokos, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • Yellow crime scene tape remained up on Jan. 26, 2024,...

    Yellow crime scene tape remained up on Jan. 26, 2024, where six people were shot to death on Jan. 23 near the San Bernardino County community of El Mirage. Sheriff’s investigators concluded their work at the site on Jan. 24, having removed the bodies and the two vans. (Brian Rokos, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • Yellow crime scene tape remained up on Jan. 26, 2024,...

    Yellow crime scene tape remained up on Jan. 26, 2024, where six people were shot to death on Jan. 23 near the San Bernardino County community of El Mirage. Sheriff’s investigators concluded their work at the site on Jan. 24, having removed the bodies and the two vans. (Brian Rokos, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • A marker for El Mirage off-road trail 4652 is at...

    A marker for El Mirage off-road trail 4652 is at the location where six people were believed to have been shot to death in the San Bernardino County desert near the community of El Mirage on Jan. 23, 2024. (Brian Rokos, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • Yellow crime scene tape remained up on Jan. 26, 2024,...

    Yellow crime scene tape remained up on Jan. 26, 2024, where the bodies of six people shot to death were found on Jan. 23 near the San Bernardino County community of El Mirage. Sheriff’s investigators concluded their work at the site on Jan. 24, having removed the bodies and the two vans. (Brian Rokos, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

  • Miles and miles away, the flat terrain collides with the mountains that were peeking out of the clouds Friday. The crime scene is off Shadow Mountain Road, 4 miles west of Highway 395 and about a 45-minute drive from Victorville.

    The bodies and the two vans were gone Friday.

    The Sheriff’s Department had shed no new light on the mystery as of midday Friday. Officials have not even confirmed the six were shot to death despite the images of a blue van pocked by bullet holes. The victims’ names, ages and genders have not been announced. The coroner’s website did not list anyone Friday whose circumstances appeared to match these six.

    If investigators are looking for any suspects, they haven’t said so publicly.

    Also, were there any survivors? And who called 911 in an area where the nearest spot, Shadow Mountain Village, is a long-abandoned mining town?

    The Sheriff’s Department said deputies were sent to the area where the crime occurred around 8:15 p.m. to perform what is called a wellness check. Five bodies were immediately discovered, and the sixth was located Wednesday morning.

    A Cal Poly Pomona criminologist on Thursday said the circumstances do not appear to point toward a drug cartel being involved.

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