Police Seek Answers in Fatal Shooting of Teen Campers in Arizona National Forest

New York Times

02-06-2025

Nearly a week after two teenagers were found fatally shot in what police believed to be homicides at a remote camping spot in Arizona, it was still not clear what had led to their deaths, deputies said on Monday.
The teenagers — Pandora Kjolsrud, 18, and Evan Clark, 17 — were high school friends who just finished the 11th grade and had gone camping at Tonto National Forest after the end of the school year, according to relatives. On May 27, deputies in Maricopa County responding to a call found their bodies off State Route 87 between Mesa and Payson, Ariz., the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and the medical examiner's office said on Monday.
They 'lost their lives due to gunshot wounds,' a statement from the sheriff's office said.
'At this time, the circumstances surrounding their deaths are being treated as suspicious,' the statement said, adding that they were treating the killings as homicides.
Medical examiner's records said that Ms. Kjolsrud and Mr. Clark had died on May 26. There were no further details.
A spokesman for the sheriff's office, Sgt. Joaquin Enriquez, said in an email on Monday that the bodies were found near Mount Ord, a mountain in Tonto National Forest on the northeastern edge of the county. People camp in the wilderness in that area because there are no developed campgrounds.
There was no further information on Monday as the homicide investigation continued, a separate statement from the sheriff's office said.
Simone Kjolsrud said in a brief telephone conversation that her daughter had been a student at Arcadia High School in Phoenix. A representative for the family said in a statement that Pandora loved camping and being outdoors and that they were 'heartbroken' by her loss.
Sandra Sweeney, Evan's mother, said in a phone call on Monday that her son had left for to the remote area on May 25 at the start of summer break at Arcadia High School. She added that after she did not hear from him for several days, she drove up to the mountain to search.
'I decided to go to the location where my son was, drove to the top and saw nothing,' she said. She learned on Tuesday that he had died, she said.
Ms. Sweeney said she and her son were close. In his last letter to her on Mother's Day, he wrote: 'You are the best mother and I'm forever in debt and grateful to you.'