TWO 16-YEAR-OLDS VANISHED HOURS APART — THEN THEY WERE FOUND TOGETHER IN THE WOODS

Two 16-year-old teenagers disappeared from separate homes on the same morning.

Hours later, a search that began as a desperate effort to bring them home ended with a devastating discovery in a wooded area of Juneau, Alaska.

Leotis Phillips and Zoey Clark were found dead.

Police said preliminary information indicated that both had suffered gunshot wounds, and a firearm was recovered at the scene.

But investigators have not yet revealed what happened during the hours between the teenagers disappearing and their bodies being discovered.

A MORNING THAT STARTED WITH TWO MISSING-PERSON REPORTS

The timeline began before sunrise on August 31.

At approximately 5:52 a.m., Leotis R. Phillips, 16, was reported missing from his home on Kanata Street.

Nearly three hours later, at approximately 8:49 a.m., Zoey L. Clark, also 16, was reported missing from her residence on Teal Street.

Authorities believed the two teenagers were together.

Police also warned the public that the pair might have access to a firearm and urged anyone who saw them not to approach them and instead contact 911.

Then the search took a heartbreaking turn.

HOURS LATER, EVERYTHING CHANGED

At approximately 2:25 p.m., officers located Leotis and Zoey in a wooded area above the 6800 block of Glacier Highway.

Both were deceased.

The Juneau Police Department said preliminary information indicated that both teenagers died from gunshot wounds.

A firearm was also found at the scene.

Their bodies were sent to the Alaska State Medical Examiner’s Office in Anchorage for autopsies, while investigators continued working to establish exactly what happened.

BUT THE BIGGEST QUESTIONS REMAIN

The police announcement was devastating — but it left many critical details unanswered.

How did Leotis and Zoey end up together in the wooded area?

What happened after each teenager left home?

Where did the firearm come from?

And what happened during those several hours before police found them?

Authorities have not publicly provided answers to those questions.

The department has emphasized that the information released so far is preliminary and could change as the investigation and autopsies continue.

A COMMUNITY LEFT IN SHOCK

The tragedy quickly spread through Juneau, where classmates, teachers, friends and family members were left grieving two teenagers who had been reported missing only hours earlier.

The Juneau School District said counseling and support services would be made available to students and staff affected by the deaths.

The police department also extended its condolences to the families, friends and classmates of both teenagers.

What began that morning as a search for two missing teenagers had, by the afternoon, become a death investigation.

And for the families waiting for answers, the most painful part may be knowing that the final moments of Leotis and Zoey’s lives remain largely unknown.

Two teenagers left home.

Hours later, they were found together in the woods.

Now investigators must piece together everything that happened in between.