Missing 14-year-old girl Genevieve Brinson found dead in an abandoned car in California

‘Through investigation, it was determined she had been living in the abandoned vehicle with a friend,’ police said

A photo of Genevieve Brinson issued by Riverside County Sheriff’s Department from a 2020 release when she was reported missing the first time (Photo/Riverside County Sheriff’s Department)

A 14-year-old missing girl’s body has been recovered from an abandoned vehicle in California, according to the police.

Genevieve Brinson, 14, who lived in a group home, was reported missing on 25 February from Victorville city in California.

The search for Brinson was ongoing for weeks as the police received a call on Monday about a possibly deceased person found in a field near the Roy Rogers Drive, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.

When deputies arrived, they located a deceased female in an abandoned vehicle, the release said.

Sheriff’s Deputy Coroner Investigator R London, who responded to the scene, obtained a fingerprint from the body and worked with Sheriff’s fingerprint examiners to determine the identification of the decedent.

The sheriff said the female was positively identified as 14-year-old Brinson on Tuesday.

“Through investigation, it was determined she had been living in the abandoned vehicle with a friend,” the release said, adding that the cause of her death is unclear at the moment and an investigation is underway.

Her body has been sent to the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner’s Division.

The Victorville Police Department has is asking for anyone with information about the Brinson case to contact them at 760 241-2911 or Sheriff’s Dispatch at 760 956 5001.

Callers wishing to remain anonymous are asked to call the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-78CRIME (27463) or to leave information at www.wetip.com.

While the police have refrained from releasing any other detail at the moment, according to local media outlets, Brinson had run away from her group home earlier in 2020 as well.

Brinson — who was 12 at the time — was missing for at least a month while the Riverside county anti-human trafficking task force investigated her disappearance.

It remains unclear whose custody Brinson was in at the time of her disappearance last month.