Family mourns 16-year-old girl found dead on freeway, search for answers in her death

Anaiah Walker had been missing for months when her family learned in early June she was dead. She was found 30 miles west of Phoenix lying in the middle of Interstate 10. It took police 12 days to identify her disfigured body, which they believe was abandoned after a hit-and-run in May. Anaiah’s last few years of life were fractured after officials say she was the victim of sex trafficking. She ran away three times from the group homes where she lived since December 2017 as a temporary ward of the state. Anaiah's cause of death is still pending, according to the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner. Her mother, Sherika Buckley, wants answers around the circumstances of her death. Read the full story by Helen Wieffering here.

For The Arizona Republic, part of the USA Today Network

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