Human remains discovered Wednesday in a “heavily wooded area” of Tennessee are believed to be that of missing teen Devin Bonds, according to the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities had been conducting a search in Barfield Crescent Park in Mufreesboro, Tennessee when the remains were found. At this time, further information is not available.
BREAKING: search teams have found remains believed to be Devin Bond, who has been missing since 2017, the RCSO just confirmed.
— Brinley Hineman (@brinleyhineman) November 13, 2019
Bond, who would now be 18, had gone missing from his family home in Murfreesboro while on spring break from Riverdale High School in 2017. He was 16.
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According to his parents, the family had enjoyed a dinner the night before he was discovered missing, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. At around 11:30 p.m. on March 30, Bonds’ mother became the last person to see the teen when she went to his room to wish him a goodnight.
Bonds was reported missing the following day after his younger brother discovered that he had stuffed blankets under his sheets to make it appear as though he were still sleeping, News 4 reports.
Authorities launched a search that included tracking dogs in an attempt to trace Bonds’ scent. Deputies also pinged the teen’s phone and placed him near Barfield Crescent Road between 4:56 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. At the same time, someone reported a possible sighting of Bonds, claiming that they had seen a teen matching his description walking alongside the road.
Despite their efforts, the investigation lacked further evidence, though Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Lisa Marchesoni said in March, according to the Daily News Journal, that the case was still active.
“(Detective Will) Pinson is actively working Devin’s disappearance to find answers, especially for Devin’s mother and his family,” Marchesoni said. “We hope people who know something will call Pinson at 615-904-3056.”
BREAKING:
Human remains found in a heavily wooded area of Barfield Crescent Park.
Rutherford County Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh says they may be the remains of Devin Bond. @NC5
Search crews are going home for the night. Investigation starts tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/KHbkHOhpkf
— Kyle Horan (@KyleHoranNC5) November 13, 2019
On Tuesday, searchers returned to the spot where Bonds’ phone had last pinged with plans to cover more than 1,000 acres of Rutherford County in the continuing search. The search had been planned and not prompted by new information.
Addressing the search in a Facebook Live Tuesday night, Bonds’ mother, Heather Simmers-Bond, said that it was “pretty much just a check mark to check it off saying that we know for sure that Devin is not in this area.”
“I’ve said this from the beginning when I knew the search was going to start that I knew that either way whatever happens with this search that one way or the other we were going to have some type of answer,” she added.
On Wednesday, approximately 20 searchers returned to the area to continue the search.
