A body found in a duffel bag on a trail east of Los Angeles was identified as that of a 9-year-old girl Sunday, and two people have been detained as persons of interest in the case, according to authorities.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department confirmed that the body discovered inside a bag Tuesday morning on a Hacienda Heights hiking trail was identified as Trinity Love Jones. The body was in a rollaway-type bag left at the bottom of an embankment close to Colima Road and the 3400 block of Hacienda Boulevard, near the His Lai Buddhist Temple.
Two people were detained in connection with the investigation, but authorities did not identify them. No details were provided about their connection to the case.
Relatives of the girl gathered Sunday at the memorial site to remember the child. A man who identified himself as Antonio Jones, Trinity's father, said he heard the awful news earlier in the day.
"Words can't explain what I'm feeling right now," Anthony Jones, Trinity's father, said Sunday at memorial site. "I just want answers. I just want justice. She was just the best -- full of character, full of life, full of joy."
The memorial has been growing in recent days, with family members adding Trinity's picture to the abundance of flowers, balloons and candles on Sunday.
Relatives originally told NBC4 prior to confirmation from the LASD that Trinity's body was found on the trail. The death was ruled as a homicide, but the cause of death was being withheld, according to the LASD.
County workers clearing brush in the area uncovered the girl's remains. The sheriff's department released a composite sketch of the girl on Wednesday and photos of a pink long-sleeve top with the words "Future Princess Hero" and gray pants with pandas on them that she was wearing when her body was found.
The body had likely been left near the trail late March 3, investigators said.
Anyone with information on the case was urged to call the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
