FBI agents Tuesday were assisting detectives from the Imperial County Sheriff’s Department in their ongoing investigation into the death of a 17-year-old runaway from the Hemet area, whose partial remains were found on a property near the home of a Salton City man now in custody.
“This case is actively being investigated by the FBI and the sheriff’s office,” Imperial County sheriff’s Lt. Joseph Conkey told City News Service Tuesday.
He confirmed that on Feb. 13, 51-year-old Abraham Feinbloom was arrested on suspicion of murder and resisting arrest in connection with the death of T’Neya Tovar.
Feinbloom is being held without bail at the Imperial County Detention Center. It was not immediately clear what charges had been filed against him by the Imperial County District Attorney’s Office, or when he’ll next appear in Superior Court.
Conkey said the multi-agency investigation was continuing.
T’Neya was reported missing by her family in early December in the unincorporated area of Hemet, specifically identified as a runaway, according to the FBI and Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. The FBI issued a missing person circular with a $10,000 reward for information about the youth.
On the afternoon of Dec. 21, Imperial County sheriff’s deputies were alerted to the presence of human remains in the area of Newhaven Court and Portsmouth Avenue in Salton City, just south of the boundary separating Riverside and Imperial counties.
The remains consisted of a decomposed leg that required more than a month of forensic tests to identify. Sheriff’s officials said T’Neya’s mother, whose identity was not disclosed, provided a DNA sample that proved vital in solving the mystery.
According to investigators, the missing girl was believed to be in Thermal at the time of her disappearance. There was no word regarding how she may have allegedly come into contact with Feinbloom.
After the remains were identified, detectives obtained an arrest warrant that was served at his residence in the 2800 block of Harlequin Court, a short distance from where the leg was recovered. When deputies arrived, they spotted “Feinbloom … jumping a fence in what appeared to be an attempt to evade law enforcement,” Conkey said.
The man was quickly apprehended, without injury to him or deputies.
Background information on him was unavailable.