Parents of woman killed in Phoenix desert area plea for public’s help in finding suspect

PHOENIX — The parents of a woman killed in a Phoenix desert area last week are asking for the public’s help in finding the suspect.

Lauren Heike, 29, was found dead with signs of trauma around 10:45 a.m. Saturday near Scottsdale Road and Mayo Boulevard.

The Phoenix Police Department said Heike was likely killed Friday while out on a walk, but that her body wasn’t found until the next day because it was in an area that wasn’t very visible.

“Please think if you had seen something, were in that area, if you know of somebody strange or acting weird,” Lana Heike, Lauren’s mother, said in a press conference. “Somebody knows this person.”

Lana Heike said the family checked her phone on Friday night and that it pinged close to where she lived, leading them to believe she could have been on a walk in the area where she was murdered.

A short surveillance video released by police Tuesday evening shows a person running from the area.

The suspect is described as someone between 5-foot-8 and 6 feet tall with a backpack.

NEW INFO ON HOMICIDE investigation. Police are hoping someone can help them identify the person in this short video who may have info on a homicide case from 6500 E Libby Street. Anyone with info call police or @SilentwitnessAZ
Original media advisory:https://t.co/8ITIbfihky pic.twitter.com/2vnwY840NC

— Phoenix Police (@PhoenixPolice) May 3, 2023

“I know someone knows something and they can help us,” Jeff Heike, Lauren’s father, said.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Phoenix police at 602-262-6151 or Silent Witness at 480-948-6377 or 480-837-8446 for Spanish.

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