Avondale Police search for Matthew Flores after human remains found in backyard
Human remains found at Litchfield Park home
Authorities are searching for 27-year-old Matthew Flores, who is considered a suspect in the disappearance of his parents. FOX 10's Nicole Krasean has the latest on the investigation after human remains were found at a Litchfield Park home.
LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz. - The search is on for 27-year-old Matthew Flores, who is now considered a suspect in the disappearance of his own parents as the family's home in Litchfield Park becomes the center of a homicide investigation.
There are still a lot of unknowns in this case. Avondale police say a significant amount of blood was found in the home, and human remains were discovered in the backyard. However, those remains have not been identified yet, and it is unknown how long they were there.
Police say Flores is likely out of the country, prompting questions about what the search for him may look like behind the scenes.
Matthew Flores
What they're saying:
"It's interesting that law enforcement has already said he's fled the country," said retired FBI Special Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer.
A day after reports surfaced of three family members missing from their Litchfield Park home, Avondale Police have named one of the missing, 27-year-old Matthew Flores, as a suspect in the case, telling FOX 10 they believe he has fled the country.
On Thursday morning, police also shared that unidentified human remains were found in the backyard of the family's home. Law enforcement experts say there are a number of reasons why investigators would expand their search outside the United States.
"It could be witnesses; it could be people that are assisting law enforcement," said U.S. Marshal Van Bayless of the District of Arizona.
"They're going to have definite Ring cameras, Nest cameras to see what cars would've left in this general timeframe," Coffindaffer said. "And then you have street cameras, traffic cameras after that that are gonna follow, and then, of course, if he went across the border, then you're going to have that camera footage."
(Related story) Police dig up 2 bodies at missing AZ family's home
Avondale police found two unidentified bodies in the backyard of a missing Litchfield Park couple. Their 27-year-old son, Matthew Flores, fled the country and is a suspect.
Dig deeper:
These tools help accelerate a case where the suspect in question has gotten a head start of sorts on the investigators looking for them.
"They have the advantage in the beginning, right? They chose when they got to flee," Bayless said. "Recent cases and some that are out there right now, that timeline is unknown of when that person left, and so now you have to catch up."
Bayless says suspects are rarely successful at evading police for long, even overseas.
"Usually the longest process is them being in prison overseas waiting to be extradited back to the United States," Bayless said. "So, we always advocate, and we always try to get family and friends of somebody that's wanted, and we always urge them, ‘please do the right thing and turn yourself in.’"
Bayless mentioned the process of extradition often being the longest part of a case. That process is dependent on the specific country where a suspect has fled and its criminal law.
Both experts say the public still plays an important role in this case, with any helpful information regarding Flores' whereabouts worth sharing with police.
What we don't know:
We still don't know the identities of the bodies found at the home, how long they've been there or how they died.
What you can do:
If you have any information about what might've happened, call the Avondale Police Department at 623-333-7000 or 623-333-7001.