A woman found dead in Mammoth Sunday was identified by authorities as the mother whose son’s disappearance sparked a massive search in Pima County last week and led to child abuse charges against her.
The Pinal County Sheriff’s Department said deputies received a tip regarding a man undergoing a mental health crisis at a location in Mammoth.
Deputies arrived at the scene to find an unidentified man injured with self-inflicted wounds and a woman — later identified as 39-year-old Danielle Lee-Sharp — deceased from an apparent self-inflicted wound.
The injured man was transported to a Tucson hospital for treatment.
Lee-Sharp’s son, 15-year-old Ryker Lee, was reported missing on Sept. 23 after he ran away from his home in Three Points.
The teen was found safe on Sept. 25, but the search for the boy led to an investigation and the arrest of Lee-Sharp and the boy’s stepfather, Michael Aaron Menzie.
Lee-Sharp and Menzie were charged with three counts of child abuse, but they were released on bond following their arrest.
