'Terrible, Horrific Situation': Girls Found Buried in Cleveland

Bodies of unidentified Black girls discovered in suitcases in shallow graves
Posted Mar 4, 2026 2:30 AM CST
2 Young Girls Found Dead in Suitcases in Cleveland
Stock photo.   (Getty Images / Ajax9)

Two young Black girls were discovered dead inside suitcases buried in shallow graves on Cleveland's east side, and police say they don't yet know who they are—or how they died. A dog walker found the first body Monday evening near East 162nd Street and Midland Avenue, prompting a search that turned up a second suitcase nearby, NBC News reports.

Police believe one girl was roughly 8 to 13 years old and the other 10 to 14. Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy Todd said there are no clear signs yet of cause of death, no connection so far to local missing-child reports, and no timeline for how long the bodies were buried. But, Todd says, "It was some time, so it's not just something that was recent." The area where the bodies were found doesn't get much foot traffic, she said. Cleveland 19 describes it as a field. Investigators have no suspects and are asking anyone with information to contact Cleveland homicide detectives or Crime Stoppers. "It's a terrible, horrific situation," Todd says, per News 5 Cleveland.

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