The brother of 18-year-old Parker League spoke exclusively with ABC15 on Thursday. This is the first time the family has spoken since the teen's body was found in a bonfire pile at Bulldog Canyon, which is part of the Tonto National Forest.
"It's hard to accept because he was the nicest kid in the world," said Hunter League, Parker's brother.
Parker's body was found on June 12.
"I got a call from my dad telling me to come home. I asked him 'why' about three times and the third time he tried to explain it, he just started breaking down," said Hunter.
Hunter was just two years older than his brother, who he also called his best friend. He said Parker had just graduated high school in Nebraska and decided to take a trip to Tempe to visit friends.
"I knew he had a place to stay; I knew he got there. We texted... that's about it," said Hunter.
The family says Parker flew in on June 9 and last messaged his brother on the 10th. He was supposed to fly home on the 12th but, that same day, his body was found. Parker's family says they were not made aware and filed a missing persons report with the Tempe Police Department on the 15th.
MCSO says they are now stepping up patrols in that area as no one has been arrested.
"I hate to hone in on this specific issue but, I mean, we're dealing with homelessness. We're dealing with just a remote area; we're dealing with areas that can only be accessed by 4x4 vehicles," said Sgt. Joaquin Enriquez.
Campers say they've heard about recent crimes happening in Bulldog Canyon, including theft. ABC15 brought that up to Hunter and he believes Parker may have been targeted because of an expensive watch he took with him on the trip. The family says they also checked Parker's bank account and found two unusual transactions.
"We basically found out that someone was using his debit card to get food and tried to pay their electric bill with it," said Hunter.
MCSO responded to that, saying homicide detectives are tracking and looking into all leads.
