Camilla Jessen
A grim discovery in a Cleveland field has left investigators searching for answers.
Two young girls were found dead inside suitcases, buried in shallow graves near a school.
Authorities are still working to identify the victims as the investigation intensifies and police appeal to the public for information.
The bodies were discovered on Monday, March 2, when a dog walker noticed something unusual in a field near East 162nd Street and Midland, PEOPLE reported.
Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy Todd said officers were called to the area around 6 p.m. local time.
At the scene, police located a suitcase buried in a shallow grave containing the body of a child.
While searching the surrounding area for evidence, investigators uncovered what appeared to be another shallow grave nearby. A second suitcase containing another body was found there.
Related victims
Officials later confirmed that the two victims were related.
According to a statement from the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office cited by PEOPLE, preliminary DNA testing shows the girls were half-siblings.
Chris Harris, a spokesperson for the office, said: “At this time, neither decedent has been positively identified. This is an ongoing investigation, and we will provide additional information as it becomes available. No further information is available at this time.”
Authorities described the victims as two juvenile Black females.
Ages and condition
Police believe one girl was between 8½ and 13 years old, while the other was between 10½ and 14.
During a press conference Tuesday, Todd said the bodies had not been dismembered.
“At this time, there are no clear indicators of the cause of death of the two young females,” she said.
Investigators also believe the bodies had been in the area for some time. “It’s not just something that was recent,” Todd added.
Witness account
The discovery was made after Phillip Donaldson’s dog began sniffing at a mound of dirt in the field.
Local station WEWS-TV reported that Donaldson believed the pile of dirt had been there for at least a week.
“It was like a pile of dirt, and she stopped to sniff … and she was taking too long,” Donaldson said.
“So I went back and looked, and it was a suitcase that was half-buried, and I pulled it up and looked in it, and it was a head. Somebody’s head in it.”
Search for answers
Police say there are currently no suspects in the case and no known missing children locally who match the victims’ descriptions.
Todd described the discovery as a “terrible, horrific situation.”
“This is a priority,” she said. “This is a traumatic event for our officers, for the community, and this is just such a tragic incident, but we are trying to develop any leads we can. That’s why we’re also asking for the community’s help.”
Sources: PEOPLE, WEWS-TV
