Jenika Feuerstein vanished at the age of 20 on January 3rd, 2009. The young woman was living in Mesa, Arizona at the time of her disappearance. The last known sighting of Jenika occurred at the northeast corner of Mesa Drive and Brown Road, just a few blocks away from her residence. The events that followed that final sighting of Jenika remain a mystery, as she never returned home or contacted her loved ones again.
Jenika's fate remained unknown for over five years. Then, on April 6th, 2014, a group of target shooters in a desert near Apache Lake found a suspicious plastic container. The men opened the container and found something shocking: skeletal remains of what appeared to be a young female, as the remains were covered by women's clothing.
Police were called to the scene, and investigators soon began to work to identify the deceased. A few days later, it was announced that the remains were that of Jenika Feuerstein. Her death was ruled a homicide.
No arrests have ever been made in Jenika's case, nor have any suspects ever been publicly announced. According to family members, Jenika was struggling with substance abuse at the time of her disappearance. In fact, her mother shared that Jenika had been using heroin since she was in 8th grade. Her loved ones tried to encourage Jenika to get treatment on more than one occasion. Their attempts were reportedly unsuccessful.
After Jenika went missing, there was speculation that her heroin addiction played a role in her disappearance. Additionally, Jenika had an active warrant for shoplifting at the time she vanished - which led to speculation that she was trying to avoid being arrested. However, there was chatter about the person(s) who saw Jenika last before her disappearance as well.
There are differing accounts about the identity of the person with whom Jenika was last seen. Some reports state the person was an "unknown man", while other reports identify the person as an older man named David L. Hutchison. Jenika reportedly messaged friends around 10:45 PM that evening stating that her and Hutchison were going to come over, but they never arrived. Early reports about Jenika's case state that Hutchison said he dropped her off on the evening of her disappearance and never saw her again.
According to East Valley Tribune, some of Jenika's friends found Hutchison at a campsite at Coon's Bluff three days after Jenika's disappearance. He reportedly denied knowledge of Jenika's whereabouts. Hutchison has never been labeled as a suspect in Jenika's case.
The location in which Jenika's remains were found years later is an approximate hour-long drive away from Coon's Bluff. After Jenika's remains were identified, investigators made an appeal to the public for anyone who could help them establish a timeline in Jenika's disappearance and murder to come forward. Still, over a decade has passed since Jenika's body was found, and her case still remains unsolved.
The Mesa County Sheriff's Office has investigative agency over Jenika's case. If you have any information that could help the investigation, please contact authorities at 602-876-1853 or submit a tip online.
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Sources:
AZ Central
Charley Project
East Valley Tribune, (2)
The Mesa Tribune
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