Remains of 3 people found near Los Angeles

The bones of three people were found buried near a burnt-out home near Los Angeles, authorities said Friday, but investigators haven’t said whether they are connected to the January disappearance of three people in the same area.

The remains were uncovered near unincorporated Littlerock, a barren desert area in the Antelope Valley east of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department announced.

The remains were skeletal, according to the coroner’s office. The cause of death had not been determined and it was unclear how long the bones had been there, authorities said.

Investigators were sent to the area on Thursday. They dug up the remains on the property of a burnt-out home and burned car in the area known as Juniper Hills.

Homicide detectives were interviewing people considered “persons of interest,” a Sheriff’s Department statement said. However, other details of the investigation were not immediately released.

Investigators did not say whether they were trying to connect the deaths to the disappearance of three people who were last heard from in January.

Jose Jorge Lara Paez, 66; Cuauhtemoc Lara, 39 and Julieta Arvizu, 49 vanished, leaving behind their possessions, and their cellphones had been turned off. Jose Lara’s car was found abandoned in February in Littlerock.