CHADRON, Neb.—Investigators on Thursday found human remains in western Nebraska that they think are those of a Denver man believed to have died at the hands of a gunman killed in a standoff with police last week.
Andres Gonzalez told negotiators during the June 12 standoff that he killed Joshua Bullock, whose burned pickup truck was found by a rancher Dec. 14 near Chadron. The western Nebraska town is about 50 miles north of Alliance, where Gonzalez wounded three officers and his pharmacist hostage before dying in a shootout with police. Earlier in the day, officers found Gonzalez’s father dead at his Alliance home.
Investigators believe Gonzalez killed the 38-year-old Bullock around Dec. 1 and left his body in a remote area of western Nebraska.
Patrol investigators found the remains near Chadron on Thursday morning, a news release from the State Patrol said.
The remains will be taken to Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff, where they will be examined by both a forensic pathologist and a forensic anthropologist, the patrol said. DNA testing also will be used to identify the remains.
“Our investigators have been searching the area since Monday,” patrol Lt. Monica Bartling said. “While we must wait for the result of testing to positively identify the remains, we believe them to be those of Josh Bullock.”
Authorities arrested Gonzalez’s girlfriend, 19-year-old Rose Siefke, of Hemingford, last week on a charge of being an accessory to a felony. Investigators believe Siefke helped conceal Bullock’s death.
She was released earlier this week from the Box Butte County Jail on $5,000 cash bond and must remain in the custody of her parents, according to court records. Her preliminary hearing is set for June 28.
Her attorney, Larry Miller, said Thursday that Siefke would plead not guilty.
He declined to discuss specifics of her defense but hinted that the 27-year-old Gonzalez had abused Siefke.
“I think anyone who has been a victim of domestic violence or knows someone who has probably understands better Rose’s situation than someone who hasn’t been there,” Miller said.
Bullock had ties to Chadron and Alliance, and he was last seen in Alliance after visiting family on Dec. 1.
