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A 16-year-old girl, not seen since Wednesday, has been found dead 800 meters from her aunt’s home in Northern California.
The body, belonging to Nevada County resident Trinity Backus, was discovered in a densely wooded river drainage area north of her Aunt Ashley Bjorklund’s home on Kentucky Ravine Road, where she had slept Wednesday night.
Backus, a basketball star at Nevada Union High School, was staying with a friend at Bjorklund’s house when she disappeared.
The last time they wore a maroon bathrobe and pajama bottoms, police said the teen left the house around 10:30 p.m. and never returned. She was not wearing shoes when she disappeared and left her slippers behind, police said.
According to the local sheriff’s office, the cause of death in the case has yet to be determined, but officials said they have collected “nothing suspicious” about it at this time. An investigation is currently underway.
Trinity Backus’ body was discovered in a densely wooded river drainage area north of her Aunt Ashley Bjorklund’s home on Kentucky Ravine Road, where she had slept with a friend Wednesday night.
Police say the teen walked out of the house barefoot around 10:30 p.m. and never returned home. Police said they had found ‘nothing suspicious’ in her death so far
In a Facebook post, the sheriff’s office said search and rescue teams found the missing teen’s body near her aunt’s 12-acre property.
“Shortly after 2 p.m. today, search and rescue teams found Trinity, unfortunately she was deceased,” the update reads.
“Trinity was about a mile and a half north of the residence where she was last seen in a very densely wooded river drainage area.”
Police noted that while Backus’ cause of death is unknown, the coroner will soon conduct his own investigation, including an autopsy.
“There is nothing suspicious at this time,” officers said after an extensive search that spanned the past two days
“We have been in touch with the family and express our deepest condolences as they process this loss. We ask you to respect their privacy.’
The update came as shattering news to the girl’s family and other residents of the mountain community who had hoped the teen would find her way back home.
“It’s just too horrific,” said one resident, Tony Loro CBS News.
Authorities from numerous state and citation agencies participated in the search for Backus, which began Thursday morning after her aunt reported her missing.
The girl’s mother, Andrea Stanio, told local outlet KCRA that she last saw her daughter around 3 p.m. Wednesday and that at about 10:47 p.m. she received a call from the girl’s aunt that Trinity was “running her house.” ‘ left behind.
“She doesn’t think so,” said Stanio, who would then drive to Bjorklund’s house—about 20 minutes from her own—to investigate. When she arrived, her daughter was nowhere to be seen.
“I didn’t see Trinity on the side of the road,” Stanio said, adding, “The last time I saw my daughter, I was picking up my youngest daughter from school and dropping her (Trinity) off.”
She said she took her youngest upstairs to see the first snow on some of the nearby mountains.
“I took my youngest daughter to the snow. I said, ‘I love you Trin,’ Those were the last words I said to my daughter.’
Before disappearing, Stanio claimed that Trinity told her aunt she was on her way to her friend’s house in Green Valley, about 10 miles away.
The family has not disclosed the identity of Backus’ boyfriend or whether he was expecting the teen. Stanio also said that going missing was not typical for her daughter.