Body of Indiana teen girl found buried on neighbor's property 5 months after she went missing

Human remains discovered buried in an Indiana man's yard on Tuesday are believed to be those of Valerie Tindall, a 17-year-old girl who lived next door. Tindall went missing on June 7, and had not been heard from in the months since.

Patrick Scott, 59, was subsequently arrested on suspicion of murder.

According to ABC News, Scott had long been a "person of interest" in the case, and on Tuesday, authorities carried out a search of his property in Arlington, a town about 32 kilometers southeast of Indianapolis.
 

"Over the course of time, with all the material, all the evidence that we have gathered in the process since June, led us to the suspect," Rush County Sheriff Allan Rice said during a press conference on Wednesday.

"This is not the outcome we had all hoped for," he added, "but I want to stress to the public that this case is far from over. Justice will be sought."

Scott, who had previously been charged in connection to the case with falsifying information to police, was a family friend, and Tindall's mother, Shena Sandefur, said she had spent time with him and his kin.

"Her and him had a bond, like they were friends," Sandefur told WRTV. "She worked for him, but she also hung out with his family, like his granddaughter was her friend and we went places with them."

"My daughter didn't deserve this, and we just want answers as to why," she said. "There is going to be a hole there forever. There's a hole that is never going to be filled. My happy family is gone."

Sandefur could not think of a reason as to why Scott would want to kill her daughter, but noted that prior to her disappearance, he had added Tindall to his family's phone tracking system.