A 14-year-old boy was arrested on a murder charge in the death of a missing 14-year-old Kansas girl whose body was found this week behind “a large dirt pile,” police said.
The girl was reported missing in Great Bend the evening of Wednesday, April 8, after she was last seen at Holy Family School, a local Catholic school for children in pre-school through 6th grade, according to the Great Bend Police Department.
The day of her disappearance, “officers fielded multiple calls regarding potential locations and areas where the missing juvenile female could possibly be located, but she was not found,” the department said in a Thursday, April 9, news release.
Then, the morning of April 9, officers were called to a girl discovered behind a dirt pile in the 4700 block of 17th Street Terrace, where she was declared dead and identified as the missing teen, according to authorities.
Police did not share the teen’s name because they were working to notify family members of her death. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation has identified her as Rubi Perez, according to KAKE.
As part of their ongoing investigation, multiple interviews were conducted and cops executed several search warrants. Soon, a 14-year-old boy was identified as a suspect, according to police. His name was not mentioned in the news release.
The boy was booked in the Barton County Detention Center on a first-degree murder charge, police said.
A few of Perez’s friends have reacted to the news of her alleged murder while speaking with KAKE.
“I couldn’t believe it,” one friend, Briley Ferguson, told the TV station. “At first, I was just in shock. It was out of the blue for her to go missing.”
Another friend, Bella Donna Werner, told the TV station she had been best friends with Perez since they were in third grade and described her as a “sister.”
“She was like a butterfly,” Werner said while speaking with KAKE. “She didn’t care if you were mean to her. She would still talk to you, and she’d let it go. She was just a little social butterfly.”
A local counseling center in Great Bend, the Center of Counseling & Consultation, also reacted to the news of the girl’s death and said that its staff members would visit Great Bend Middle School on Friday, April 10, to support students, KWCH reported.
“We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of a young life in our community today,” the Facebook post said. “Our thoughts are with the family, friends, classmates, and all who are impacted by this devastating news.”
The Great Bend Police Department is asking anyone with additional information relevant to the murder investigation to call the department at 620-793-4120 or Crimestoppers at 620-792-1300. Online tips can also be submitted.
Great Bend is about a 105-mile drive northwest from Wichita.
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