Probe underway as 6 people found mysteriously dead in Mojave Desert

Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.

MOJAVE DESERT, CALIFORNIA: At a remote crossroads in the Mojave Desert, close to El Mirage, California, deputies discovered the bodies of six people. The scene was described as so graphic that television stations censored some of the photos taken by their helicopter from above.

According to Mara Rodriguez, a spokesperson for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, deputies were asked to respond to "an area off Highway 395 in El Mirage" on Tuesday night for a wellness check.

'Sex or age of decedents' have not been confirmed: Police

Five bodies had been found when they arrived, and the sixth had been found by investigators after an overnight search.

Rodriguez told the Victorville Daily Press, part of the USA TODAY Network that the investigators were still compiling evidence to ascertain what transpired at the scene. The people's identities and the circumstances of their deaths were kept a secret by the authorities.

"It’ll be several hours still before we are ready for any body to be removed from the scene," she stated at a press conference, noting that the coroner's investigators would be contacted at that point.

According to an email from Gloria Huerta, the sheriff's spokesperson, members of the specialized investigations division were also called in to investigate a homicide.

According to Victor Valley News Group, all of the victims had been shot, though it was unclear at first what caused their deaths. Rodriguez stated, "We have not confirmed the sex or the age of any of the decedents at this point."

Several bloodied bodies were found strewn on the ground, encircled by investigators' evidence markers. According to KTLA, some of the bodies also looked to have been burned. 

Two parked cars spotted at crime scene

About 20 miles northwest of Victorville and 50 miles northeast of Los Angeles is where the bodies were found. According to Rodriguez, to locate the scene, the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department had to ask the California Highway Patrol's Aviation Division for help.

Two cars were discovered parked at the crime scene, including a dark blue SUV with a blown-out passenger window and another car with a partially blurry door open, according to TV station overhead footage.

Additionally, footage revealed multiple yellow markers obstructing access from the closest paved road near the dirt crossroads in miles of scrubby desert land. Rubber tires, broken bottles, and cardboard were also discovered strewn throughout the taped-off scene.