Isabel Celis, 6, and 13-year-old Maribel Gonzalez went missing less than a mile from each other two years apart

Girls Who Vanished Less Than a Mile Apart Were Murdered by the Same Man, Police Allege

An Arizona man is accused of kidnapping and murdering two girls in separate incidents in 2012 and 2014, PEOPLE confirms.

Christopher Clements, 36, has been charged with the murders of 6-year-old Isabel Celis and 13-year-old Maribel Gonzalez, who vanished less than one mile from each other, the Tucson Police Department announced at a press conference Saturday.

Get push notifications with news, features and more.

On April 21, 2012, Isabel was taken from her bedroom in her Tucson home and her remains weren’t found for years. Maribel went missing on June 3, 2014, while walking from her home to her friend’s house nearby.

Three days later, Maribel’s body was found near an intersection in Northern Tucson, Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus said at the press conference. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department investigated the case and Maribel’s manner of death was determined to be a homicide.

Image zoom Christopher Clements Tucson PD

A break in the case came in early 2017 when the FBI received a tip that Clements had information about the disappearance of Isabel. In March, after speaking with Clements, local and federal authorities located Isabel’s remains in the same area where Maribel’s body had been found years earlier.

Isabel’s manner of death was also ruled a homicide.

• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.

On Friday, Clements was indicted on multiple felony charges including two counts of murder in the first degree. Additional charges include two counts of kidnapping of a minor and fourteen separate counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. He is charged with second-degree burglary for allegedly entering Isabel’s home and taking her.

Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall called Clements’ arrest “long overdue.”

“The heart-wrenching tragedies of Maribel Gonzalez’ and Isabel Celis’ murders have been compounded by a very long, long wait for justice,” LaWall said. “Christopher Clements was actually at liberty for the murder of Isabel Celis for a bit longer than she was alive. His apprehension was long overdue.”

“To the families, our hearts go out to you for the tragic loss that you’ve suffered, for the long time that you’ve waited for a resolution,” LaWall added.

Clements is currently behind bars in Phoenix on unrelated charges, authorities said Saturday. He is being held on a $2 million cash-only bond for the new charges.