A disturbing discovery in Southern California has led to a homicide investigation, just blocks from the area where a man disappeared two weeks earlier.
Authorities, however, have not said the two cases are connected.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said Tuesday that detectives are investigating the deaths of two people after human remains were found in Lancaster, a remote city in the Mojave Desert.
The remains were discovered near 50th Street East and Avenue F. A large law enforcement operation followed at a property strewn with debris, recreational vehicles and what appeared to be the remnants of an aging greenhouse.
Aerial video showed investigators excavating parts of the property while evidence markers were placed across the site. Authorities also set up a canopy where photographs and other potential evidence appeared to be processed.
Witnesses said cadaver dogs were brought in to search the area.
“Based on the circumstances surrounding the discovery, the case is now being investigated as a homicide,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
“Homicide investigators are in the early stages of investigating the scene.”
The identities of the deceased, along with information about how they died, were not released. Officials said the details were being withheld “to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation.”
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The sheriff’s department provided no additional information.
KTLA video showed investigators digging a sizable hole on the property as the search continued.
The site is near where 61-year-old Ricky Allen Phillips went missing two weeks ago. Authorities have not indicated that Phillips is among the people whose remains were found, nor have they said his disappearance is related to the homicide investigation.
According to an LASD missing-person bulletin, Phillips was last seen Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, in the 44900 block of 10th Street W in Lancaster.
The sheriff’s department listed Phillips as an “at-risk missing person” and said his family was “concerned for his well-being.”
Phillips is described as 5 feet, 7 inches tall and weighing 230 pounds. He has black hair and green eyes.
The close proximity of the missing-person case and the homicide scene has fueled questions, but authorities have released no public evidence linking the two investigations.