Updated at 12:57 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024.
Investigators have identified the person whose head and hands were found in a freezer left behind by the previous occupants of a home near Grand Junction.
The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office identified the human remains as belonging to Amanda Leariel Overstreet, who was believed to be around 16-years-old at the time of her disappearance. Overstreet was the biological daughter of the home’s previous owner, according to a Friday morning press release.
The remains were discovered in January when the home’s new owners were trying to get rid of the freezer after taking over the property. They discovered the head and a pair of hands when someone came to claim the appliance, the sheriff’s office said.
Overstreet has not been seen since 2005, and an investigation into her disappearance is ongoing.
Wendy Likes, public information officer for the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office, said there is no record of Overstreet ever being reported missing.
“Give us some time and some grace to really figure out what happened and we want to do the best job for her,” Likes said. “A child went missing and there's no record that anyone reported her missing, and that's very sad. So we want to be sure that it's a thorough investigation, that we get all the details and the facts right.”
The home where the remains were found sits outside of Grand Junction city limits, which means the sheriff’s office will lead the investigation. Likes said the Colorado Bureau of Investigation did provide assistance to the coroner’s office.
“We still have a lot of forensic testing that we need to do on evidence and a lot of interviews still to complete,” Likes said.
Likes noted the investigation will probably move slowly.
The sheriff’s office said the house in question is located on the 2900 block of Pinyon Avenue. County property records for a home on that block include records for a home occupied by a Bradley David Imer, who died of COVID-19 in 2021. Imer’s death certificate, which was included in the county’s property records, lists his spouse as Leanne Overstreet.
It’s unclear whether there is any relationship between Leanne Overstreet and Amanda Overstreet, the victim. The sheriff’s office confirmed the home’s previous owner was Amanda Overstreet’s biological mother, but said it would not confirm whether that person is Leanne Overstreet when CPR News inquired.
