WASHINGTON — Fairfax County police have identified the remains of a teenager found at a Springfield, Virginia, industrial park Saturday as those of a Gaithersburg, Maryland, teen reported missing last December.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the death of Damaris Alexandra Reyes Rivas, 15, as a homicide. Investigators say the victim suffered trauma to the upper body.
Rivas was found dead in the 7100 block of Wimsatt Road near Lake Accotink Park Saturday afternoon, as police continued their search for the missing teen.
She was reported missing by her mother on Dec. 10, 2016 and left home voluntarily. According to her mother, Rivas had left home before for periods of time and would keep in contact, Montgomery County police said in a news release Tuesday.
When Rivas left home in December, she remained in contact with her mother into January through social media, saying that she was unharmed but that she did not want to go back home, police said.
Detectives from Fairfax County had contacted Montgomery County investigators in mid-January and said they believed Rivas “might be in the company of gang members in their jurisdiction.”
See a report on the ongoing investigation from WTOP’s television news partner NBC Washington.
WTOP’s Teta Alim and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
