Two Hesperia brothers were arrested late Monday, Feb. 11, one on suspicion of murder, in the disappearance of Moreno Valley teenager Aranda Briones, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said Tuesday.

No body has been found, and a search continues for the victim, Sheriff’s Lt. Chris Durham said.

Two men were arrested Feb. 11, 2019, in connection with the disappearance of Aranda Briones, 16, of Moreno Valley. (Courtesy of Riverside County Sheriff’s Department)

Landry “Chapo Lee” Briones, father of Aranda Briones, points to a photo of he and his daughter Aranda on his shirt after a news conference in Moreno Valley on Feb. 12, 2019, where the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department announced the arrest of two men in Aranda’s disappearance. (Brian Rokos, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

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Riverside County sheriff’s Lt. Chris Durham discusses the investigation into the disappearance of Aranda Briones, 16, and the arrest of two Hesperia men during a news conference in Moreno Valley on Feb. 12, 2019. (Brian Rokos, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)



Durham said at a Tuesday evening news conference that evidence dug out of the suspects’ backyard led them to believe Briones, 16, was a homicide victim. She was last seen Jan. 13 at Moreno Valley Community Park after spending time with friends.

Owen Skyler Shover, 18, was arrested on suspicion of murder by deputies from the Moreno Valley station and a sheriff’s SWAT team on Grevillea Street in Hesperia at 11:45 p.m. He was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside at 1:56 a.m. Tuesday.

Also, Gary Anthony Shover, 21, was arrested at the same time in Hesperia on suspicion of conspiracy. He was being held at the Cois M. Byrd Detention Center in French Valley.

Both men were in custody without bail. They were arrested without incident, Bianco said.

Durham said that early in the investigation it was determined that Owen Shover was the last person seen with Briones.

“I don’t know what was taken from their backyard, but I do know evidence was collected that confirmed (our investigators’ belief) that Miss Briones was the victim of a homicide,” Durham said.

Durham said investigators would present their case to the District Attorney’s Office and continue to search for her body.

Bianco earlier asked for the public’s help in finding her, “so that in one way or another, we can return her to her family.”

Briones and Owen Shover knew each other as acquaintances from Moreno Valley High, family members said. Bianco said that was one focus of the investigation.

“This has been an exhaustive, 24-hour, seven-day-a-week effort to locate Ms. Briones, and with that investigation, we uncovered enough evidence to arrest both of them,” Bianco said of the Shover brothers.

Bianco declined to discuss any possible motive in the case.

Briones’ father, Landry “Chapo Lee” Briones, reunited with his daughter last November after 12 years apart. He lived in Mississippi while she lived in Moreno Valley with her grandparents.

“I wrote every day,” he said after the news conference and pointed to a photo on his shirt of father and daughter posing together. The shirt said “MISSING” in red letters.

Briones estimated that the family spent $10,000 of its own money on the search.

Briones cried when he said he hoped that investigators were mistaken in their belief that his daughter was dead.

But if she is, he said, “Whoever killed my daughter, they are going to have to meet their maker. When you meet God, let’s see if you can stare him in the face.”

Law enforcement and members of the public had fanned out around the region looking for Briones, and a hotline had been established looking for tips. The Sheriff’s Department on Jan. 23 delivered flyers with Briones’ description to volunteers at Community Park who then distributed them around the city.

Bianco said the investigation was done by “the entire Moreno Valley station, our special investigation bureau and the central homicide bureau,” along with help from the San Bernardino County Sheriff and the FBI.

The Sheriff’s Department followed up on leads from the public, family and friends; and was searching footage from the Moreno Valley citywide camera system. Investigators also tapped into the anti-human trafficking team.

Briones was classified as a missing person and not as a runaway, Sgt. Chris Willison said during the search.

“That’s why we are throwing the world at this because it’s unusual for her (to vanish),” he said.

The arrests come as the community is dealing with the violent death of another teenager.

Jesse Perez Torres, 42, is in the second week of his murder trial in the 2010 slaying of Norma Lopez, 17. Torres faces the death penalty if convicted as charged. Prosecutors say Torres kidnapped Lopez as she walked to a friend’s house from a summer school class at Valley View High. Torres has pleaded not guilty.