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Body found in bonfire pile in Tonto National Forest identified as missing teen

MCSO is calling 18-year-old Parker League's death 'malicious'
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Posted at 12:08 PM, Jun 21, 2023
and last updated 2023-06-21 16:38:26-04

The body found in a bonfire pile in the Tonto National Forest last week has been identified as an 18-year-old reported missing out of Tempe.

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office identified the body Wednesday as that of 18-year-old Parker League.

League had been reported missing by the Tempe Police Department, according to MCSO.

Tempe police say League was visiting from Arizona but was from out of state. His last known location is believed to be at a residential home in Tempe, where his belongings were left behind, police said.

MCSO says League's death was "malicious," but did not specify how the teen died.

Officials said earlier that League's body was found on June 12 around 7 a.m. at the Bulldog Canyon (Hackamore) OHV recreation area, northeast of the Phoenix metro area.

Samuel Gordon, a camper in the area, says it can get busy on the weekends with people coming to hang out. He and many others say they have seen a rise in criminal activity.

"Hearing that there's been a lot of theft around here so, it is a little disturbing because it's supposed to be the off-road community and everybody is supposed to help each other... not be stealing things and having that sort of things going on," said Gordon.

The death investigation is ongoing and is considered a homicide.