Rutherford County teams search for missing Tennessee teen Devin Bond

Mariah Timms | Murfreesboro Daily News Journal

Clarification: The remains recovered Wednesday were found in the area of Barfield Crescent Park, but not inside the park itself.

Human remains were found in the area of Barfield Crescent Park on Wednesday during a search for a missing Rutherford County teen, the sheriff's office confirmed.

Devin Bond, now 18, disappeared from his family home in 2017. He was then 16. Investigators have reported his cell phone last pinged in the Barfield Park area around that time, but no confirmed sightings of the teen have been made since then.

The remains were found in a heavily wooded area, RCSO Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh confirmed in an emailed statement.

Portions of the park include a four-mile hiking trail and an eight-mile, 100-acre mountain bike trail that opened earlier this year.

Submitted

Searchers were in the second day of a comprehensive search of approximately 1,000 acres in the Barfield Park area, near where Bond's cell phone was last recorded being.

The remains have not been confirmed to be Bond's, and will be transported to the Medical Examiner's office for identification, Fitzhugh confirmed in the email.

Searchers will continue to cover the area Thursday looking for "clues and other items" that may be in the area and lead to identification.

Bond was last seen by his family while on spring break from Riverdale High School on the night of March 30, 2017. His mother said she, along with investigators, believe the teenager left on his own as video surveillance footage doesn't show anyone coming to their home to pick up her son.

Brinley Hineman, DNJ

Mother Heather Simmers-Bond took to Facebook Live Tuesday night to address the search, saying it was planned and not sparked by any tips.

Approximately 20 searchers gathered in the area early Wednesday, including members of the RCSO's Mounted Patrol unit and officers from local police departments.

Simmers-Bond said searchers didn't expect to find her son there, but were combing more than 1,000 acres to make sure.

“This is pretty much just a check mark to check it off saying that we know for sure that Devin is not in this area," she said in the Facebook Live video Tuesday night.

This coverage is ongoing, check back for updates.