Arizona Teens on Camping Trip Shot Dead

Pandora Kjolsrud and Evan Clark had just finished 11th grade at Arcadia High School in Phoenix, Arizona, and headed to the wilderness to celebrate. The two friends were camping in a remote area of Tonto National Forest when things took an unimaginable turn: The teens, ages 18 and 17 respectively, were fatally shot. Police are treating the deaths as homicides, the New York Times reports. Kjolsrud and Clark were found early last Tuesday morning near Mount Ord in eastern Maricopa County, AZFamily reports. "If you have any information—no matter how small—that may be relevant to this case, we strongly encourage you to come forward. Your help could be critical in bringing answers and justice to the victims and their families," says the sheriff's office in a statement.

Clark's mother says he set out for the trip on May 25, two days before the teens' bodies were found. She says she drove to the area herself—a remote region with no developed campgrounds, where people often camp in the rough—when she didn't hear from him. Kjolsrud's mother tells AZCentral that her daughter loved the outdoors. "She was a bright light in this world who loved every single person she met and had a very unique ability to make every person feel special and loved," she says. "She lived life in a big way and was always up for an adventure." (More Arizona stories.)