Remains Found in Arizona Yard; Son Believed to Have Fled US

Human remains of two people were found buried in the backyard of a Litchfield Park, Arizona, home on Thursday as police searched for a missing father and mother, authorities said. Their adult son is believed to have left the country.

Avondale police spokesperson Officer Daniel Benavidez said the son, Matthew Flores, 27, was initially listed in a missing persons report filed Tuesday by concerned family members. Relatives called police Tuesday afternoon and said they expected the mother, father and son to be at the residence where the remains were later discovered.

When officers went to the home for a welfare check, they saw signs of a crime, Benavidez said. Investigators identified "a large amount of blood, and we also identified what we believed as evidence in an attempt to conceal that blood, and that's what made us believe that foul play is involved," he said at a news conference Thursday.

The remains, found buried in the backyard, were in a state of decomposition and had not been identified as of Thursday afternoon, police said. They were being recovered with help from the Phoenix police homicide unit while Benavidez spoke with reporters. Police did not say how long the bodies were believed to have been there.

Authorities said they believe Flores fled the country before officers conducted the welfare check Tuesday. Benavidez declined to say where investigators believe he went. "All I can say is that he fled the country," he said.

Police are now calling Flores a suspect in the missing persons investigation. Benavidez said investigators have leads and asked anyone with information about Flores or his movements to contact the department.

The names of the parents were not released Thursday, at the request of the family members who reported them missing, Benavidez said.