by Sonu Munshi and Eugene Scott - Jun. 2, 2012 03:59 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
Five dead bodies burned beyond description have been found inside a burned vehicle in Pinal County's Vekol Valley area.
Sheriff Paul Babeu told reporters Saturday afternoon that the incident may be drug-related. His deputies are searching for suspects.
According to a sheriff's spokesman, the car was found off Interstate 8 at Milepost 151 in the desert just west of Casa Grande. It was originally spotted by police officers at 4:30 a.m. before it fled into the desert.
Four bodies were found in the bed of a Ford vehicle, and one was in the backseat. None were in the driver or passenger seats, Babeu said.
He added that if the homicide turns out to be related to Mexican drug cartels, it is rare to see these kinds of killings so close to the Valley.