Human leg found in California desert belongs to missing teen

A human leg found shortly before Christmas near the Salton Sea is that of a 17-year-old girl who went missing that month, the teen’s mother said.

An announcement Thursday, Feb. 12, from the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office did not give the girl’s name, identifying her only as a “missing juvenile female” from Riverside County.

The FBI’s Los Angeles office attached the Imperial County statement to its social media post about the disappearance of T’Neya Tovar, and the girl’s mother confirmed the identity to Southern California news reporters.

The mother said she last saw T’Neya on Dec. 1 and reported her missing after she failed to return to Hemet from what was thought to be a trip to Palm Springs.

On Dec. 21, Imperial County sheriff’s deputies investigated a report of a human leg found in the community of Salton City. The location was an area of vacant lots within a scattered residential development on the lake’s west shore.

DNA was matched to a sample from the missing girl’s mother, the Feb. 12 announcement said.

The sheriff’s office did not say the girl is believed to be dead; it said it continues to “search for the still missing juvenile” in conjunction with other agencies, including the FBI.

A flyer circulated by T’Neya’s family said they believe she had been in the company of an adult man. They said he is a resident of Thermal, but the street address listed on the flyer is in unincorporated Salton City about a half-mile from where the leg was found.