Bones Found in Arizona Believed to Be Missing Girl's Mother

There’s been a big break in the murder mystery of a 12-year-old girl’s human remains that were found in Catahoula Parish in October.

Authorities in Arizona say they believe skeletal remains discovered in a remote area off Interstate 40 may be connected to Suellen Roberts, the mother. FBI agents and Harrison County sheriff’s deputies arrested 53-year-old Thomas Sanders at a truck stop in Gulfport, Miss. on Sunday, after acting on a tip call.

Sanders is the suspect in the kidnapping of Lexis Kaye Roberts, whose skeletal remains were discovered by hunters north of Harrisonburg in Catahoula Parish.

Officials confirm that sheriff’s investigators and FBI agents are in Mississippi today, questioning Sanders about his involvement in Roberts’ death, and trying to find more details about the disappearance of the girl’s mother, Suellen Roberts.

The sheriff says he expects additional charges against Thomas in Arizona and Louisiana in connection with the case.

Authorities arrested Sanders without incident and describe him as cooperative during interviews. The sheriff says that FBI flyers and media attention about Sanders’ appearance, including his sweet tooth, lead to his arrest.

“When he came in to the truck stop, his shirt was unbuttoned, and the employee saw the tattoo. He bought a lot of candy bars. His dress and physical description indicated that it was probably the suspect,” said Sheriff James Kelly, Catahoula Parish.

But the arrest of Thomas Sanders signals relief and other strong emotions for mothers who were interviewed by NBC 10.

“I’m angry. We’re lucky the police caught him. If anyone got him here, they would’ve been picking up a corpse,” said Stacey Williams.

“That was an innocent little girl. Twelve years old. Just starting her life. I’m glad he’s off the streets,” said Melissa Harris.

Teams of FBI agents pieced together the story of how Lexis Kaye Roberts became a murder victim: Who shot the little girl and left her to die in the woods? And Why was she found 1500 miles from home?

FBI agents say it all started with a vacation trip across the country, that started in Las Vegas, where Suellen Roberts met Sanders at his place of employment.

The FBI later released surveillance video from a Wal-Mart in September, showing Sanders buying bullets that fit into a weapon that ended Roberts’ life.

In a bizarre twist, officials say the suspect was declared legally dead by his own family in Mississippi 16 years ago. But a legal death certificate didn’t get in the way of Sanders building a lengthy rap sheet, including arrests for sex crimes against children.

The sheriff says Sanders slipped under the radar since there’s no national death certificate registry. Also, officials say Sanders committed crimes in other states beside Mississippi, it didn’t raise a red flag with Mississippi authorities.

“Deaths are not entered into a national database. Only reason you’d be aware of a death certificate is if you had a reason to collect benefits or if you had dealings with that person declared dead,” said Sheriff Kelly.