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THE haunting cause of death of two teenage runaways found dead in a water basin has been revealed.
The bodies of Sitlalli Avelar, 17, and Kamryn Meyers, 15, were tragically discovered in Mesa, Arizona, by a dog walker two weeks after they disappeared.
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The girls had vanished from their group home in the city on January 7 before the man made the grisly find in a water retention basin.
Police were stumped by the case, as the state of the bodies seemed to suggest they had been in the water for some time.
The dog walker who alerted authorities told cops he initially thought one of the victim’s corpses was a mannequin.
After emergency services swooped on the scene, the second teenager was harrowingly found lying just 10ft away from her pal.
Officials have now released the cause of death of Sitalli and Kamryn, with the medical examiner’s office listing them as accidental.
It was determined that the teens drowned while “acutely” intoxicated with alcohol.
Kamryn is also said to have had traces of marijuana in her system, suggesting she consumed some shortly before her death.
Investigators said there doesn’t appear to be any signs of foul play but called on the public to get in touch with any more information.
Details on the mysterious case remain scarce and detectives are still trying to work out why the pair ran away.
Their group home, which opened last October, is reportedly one of several operated by Powerhouse Youth Facility Inc., according to KPHO.
A lawyer for the facility, Brad Miller, previously said both teens had a history of leaving the space.
State law dictates that workers at the center cannot force children to stay there, he added.
He claimed staff had tried to stop the girls from leaving the home on January 6 and they notified authorities when Sitlalli and Kamryn failed to return the following day.
One of Kamryn’s close pals shared how he discovered she had passed away after receiving a text message from a mutual friend.
Keith Plummer, who met her in 2021 at a program aimed to help young women at risk, described her as “a really good person.”
The two continued to stay in touch and became friends, staying in touch through social media.
Keith explained they were in the same group chat and regularly checked up on each other.
He told KPNX-TV: “I got a text message on the group chat saying, ‘Guys, Kamryn’s dead.’
“Her death was a total surprise to all of us, which makes it hurt the worst. She was only 15.
“She was entertaining; she was hilarious; she always put a smile on my face. She didn’t deserve this. It’s absolutely messed up.”
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