PHOENIX — The Phoenix Police Department has identified the human skull found by a hiker at South Mountain on Jan. 14.
The remains belong to Jerole Tsinnijinnie, 31, and the investigation into the person's death is ongoing.
According to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, Tsinnijinnie was last seen in January 2020.
The skull displayed obvious signs of trauma, resulting in Phoenix's homicide detectives taking over the investigation.
While searching the park on Saturday, Jan. 28, detectives found more human remains in the area, authorities said. The remains were later given to the Maricopa County Forensic Medical Center.
Police later released a composite sketch of the then-unidentified individual.
Silent Witness:
Arizona's Silent Witness program allows people to send in tips and share information about crimes happening within their local communities.
The program shares unsolved felony case information in multiple ways, including TV, radio and social media.
Anyone who has information on a crime or recognizes a suspect described by the program is asked to call 480-948-6377, go to the program's website online or download the Silent Witness app to provide a tip. The identity of anyone who submits a tip is kept anonymous.
Calls to Silent Witness are answered 24/7 by a live person and submitted tips are accepted at all times. Submitted tips are then sent to the detective(s) in charge of the specific case.
Individuals who submit tips that lead to an arrest or indictment in the case can get a reward of up to $1,000.
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What is the Valley?:
“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest.
The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:
- Mesa
- Chandler
- Scottsdale
- Tempe
- Glendale
- Surprise
- Peoria
- Gilbert
- El Mirage
- Avondale
- Litchfield Park
- Goodyear
- Buckeye
Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.
The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.
