MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WTVF) — Thursday, crews have returned to an area in Murfreesboro where human remains were found the day before. Those remains could belong to missing teen Devin Bond, who disappeared nearly three years ago.
Crews canvassed the area of Barfield Crescent Road in Rutherford County, where Bond’s cellphone last pinged before he disappeared. They will remove the remains and send them to the Medical Examiner's Office for positive identification.
Heather Simmers Bond just told me she wants to thank everyone who posted fliers or helped with the search for her son.
— Kyle Horan (@KyleHoranNC5) November 14, 2019
There’s an investigative team at the scene where human remains were found yesterday afternoon.
The Rutherford County Sheriff says they aren’t identified...
Read more: Search crews say they may have found Devin Bond's remains
Bond disappeared back in March of 2017, and there have been several attempts to locate him or his remains. According to the Rutherford County Sheriff''s Office, earlier this year an online gaming friend of Bond's anonymously contacted a friend of the Bond's family. Detective Will Pinson tracked him to San Antonio, Texas, and traveled there to interview him.
There, the friend told Pinson that Bond had made numerous comments about suicide and depression in the past.
Following that meeting, another search was planned. That planning went on for about a month leading up to this week's search.
The remains were found in a heavily wooded area. They were not identified, but the Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh said they may be Bond.
Despite the uncertainty, his mother Heather Simmons has stayed optimistic. Even though authorities haven't confirmed the remains found belong to her son, she made an emotional statement on social media, saying:
We are devastated at the loss of our son, Devin. Our goal was to bring Devin home and we are bringing him home, just not in the way we had hoped. Rest in peace sweet boy and we will be counting the days until we are together again. Thank you to Detective Pinson, Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department and all the searchers that helped locate our son. We are forever grateful"
