By Elizabeth Wolfe, Melissa Alonso and Jessica Flynn | CNN
Chance Comanche, a former player with the NBA G League’s Stockton Kings, and his girlfriend have been arrested and charged in connection with the kidnapping and killing of a missing woman whose remains were found in a desert near Las Vegas, police announced Sunday.
Comanche, 27, and his girlfriend, Sakari Harnden, 19, were arrested last week and charged with kidnapping Harnden’s friend, Marayna Rodgers, but police began pursuing murder charges against the couple after Rodgers’ remains were discovered, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a news release Sunday.
The Kings, an affiliate of the Sacramento Kings, announced Friday that Comanche has been released from the team.
Rodgers was reported missing on December 7, two days after she was last seen with friends and had arranged to meet with Harnden and Comanche, according to police.
“Early in the investigation, detectives suspected foul play and obtained evidence to arrest Harnden and her boyfriend Comanche for their role in the kidnapping and disappearance of Rodgers,” police said.
After the arrests, investigators obtained information that led them to find Rodgers’ remains in a desert area of Henderson, about 20 miles southeast of Las Vegas, according to police.
Detectives determined that Harnden and Comanche “were responsible for the murder of Rodgers,” police said.
Harnden has since been charged with murder and theft, both felonies, in addition to the kidnapping charge, court records show.
No murder charge has been filed against Comanche, according to court records, but police said Sunday that both suspects’ charges would be “amended to open murder through coordination with the Clark County District Attorney’s office.”
Comanche was arrested by FBI personnel on Friday in Sacramento, California, and is awaiting extradition to Nevada, according to police.
Harnden was arrested Wednesday and appeared in court on Thursday and Sunday, when her bond was set at $500,000, court records show.
CNN sought comment from the league and the Clark County Public Defender, who is representing Harnden. CNN has been unable to determine if Comanche has an attorney.
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