'Unimaginable grief': Missing child's partial remains found in California desert

"After a multi-agency search involving the FBI and several Southern California counties, the partial remains of a missing 17-year-old girl have been discovered near the edge of the Salton Sea, authorities confirmed, leading to the arrest of a 51-year-old male suspect. The missing child, T'Neya Tovar, was last seen in Thermal, an unincorporated community in the Coachella Valley, on Dec. 1 of last year, the FBI wrote."

"Once they arrived, deputies found a decomposing leg, which was collected by the coroner's unit and sent to the county's forensic pathologist for further examination. After collaborating with several outside agencies to develop a DNA profile of the leg, a breakthrough was finally made on the afternoon of Feb. 6: Once they cross-compared the analysis with Tovar's mother, Charro Tovar, authorities were able to confirm that the leg belonged to her missing daughter."

"According to officials, he attempted to jump a fence during his arrest, and now remains in custody in Imperial County Jail, where he faces one charge of murder and another charge of resisting a peace officer. Melanie Roe, Feinbloom's former defense attorney who represented him when he faced felony kidnapping charges that were dismissed in 2019, told KESQ-TV that she still hasn't seen a death certificate from the coroner's office."

Partial remains of 17-year-old T'Neya Tovar were discovered near the edge of the Salton Sea after a multi-agency search. Tovar was last seen in Thermal on Dec. 1. On Dec. 21 deputies in the Vista Del Mar area found a decomposing leg, which the coroner's unit sent to the county forensic pathologist. Agencies developed a DNA profile and on Feb. 6 matched the leg to Tovar after cross-comparison with her mother, Charro Tovar. Authorities arrested 51-year-old Abraham Feinbloom, who attempted to jump a fence during arrest and remains jailed on charges of murder and resisting a peace officer. A former defense attorney said she had not seen a death certificate from the coroner.

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