PINAL COUNTY, AZ - The official cause of death for Emily Pike, a 14-year-old runaway, has been revealed by authorities.
The Pinal County Medical Examiner's Office ruled that Pike died of "homicidal violence with blunt head trauma."
Pike went missing from a Mesa, Arizona, group home in January and was found dismembered in trash bags near the Sar Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona the following month, People Magazine reported.
While the cause of death has been confirmed, the complete report from the medical examiner is still not available.
The Gila County Sheriff's Office (GCSO) is the lead agency investigating the teen's death, according to ABC15.
Other agencies are part of a task force working on the case, including the FBI and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. GCSO said that have not yet identified a suspect or person of interest.
However, in the beginning of June, search warrants were reportedly served on a residential structure, a vehicle, and a storage trailer. Items were taken from those locations and sent away for analysis.
In June, ABC15 obtained audio from the 911 call when Pike was reported missing.
"I looked under the bed and the closet. I looked outside. The gate was open. The screen door, the screen window was kicked out," a staff member of the group home could be heard telling police over the phone.
She was listed as a missing person at that time. Her remains were located "approximately 100 miles" from where the teen was last seen alive.
It is unclear how she traveled that far and what happened to her after her disappearance at this time. Officials are offering rewards for information leading to an arrest in the case.
Silent Witness and the Arizona Department of Public Safety announced an additional $25,000 to the reward, putting the total reward at $200,000.
In September 2023, Pike had also attempted to run away from the group home, though she was recovered by police. Bodycam footage of the teen when she was found shows that she did not like living in the group home.
"I just want to see my mom," she could be heard telling the officer, adding that she wanted to stay with her grandma. "I'm not going to go to that (expletive) group home."
