Investigation Continues After Bodies of Aja Johnson, Lester Hobbs Possibly Found in Norman

News9.com

NORMAN, Oklahoma – Authorities are conducting a thorough search of a rural area of Norman while waiting for confirmation that two decomposing bodies belong to Lester Hobbs and missing 7-year-old Aja Johnson.

The bodies were found Monday afternoon after a 911 caller reported an abandoned vehicle in a heavily wooded area in Norman. Police think they belong to Lester Hobbs and Aja Johnson, but are waiting for official confirmation from the state Medical Examiner's office, Police Spokeswoman Jennifer Newell said.

The man who found the car and called 911 already knew there was a car in the area. A surveyor hired by land owner Jerry Spotts had reported seeing a white car in the area two weeks ago.

"I went over to check it out and I got to about 20 yards of it, I guess, and I saw a body lying beside the car," Jerry Spotts said. "It was a small person, covered with a blanket except for the head that was sticking out."

He knew at once this was probably the body of Aja Johnson.

"This is not a pretty scene, and it sounds like that little girl and the white car they've been searching for," Spotts said.

A tow truck removed the car from the scene and towed it to a Norman police building.

After the car was removed, police officers spread out and searched the area once again, looking for clues, anything, that might help the investigation.

"You don't want to miss anything," Newell said. "We don't' want to treat this like an open-and-shut case."

Hobbs was the main suspect in Aja's disappearance and the death of her mother. He was charged with murder after Aja's mother was found dead in a travel trailer in Geronimo in January.

Investigators estimated the two had been dead for about a month, but will wait for an official report from the Medical Examiner, Newell said.

Authorities had patrolled the area at least three times after receiving tips that Hobbs had previously lived in the area and might return there.

Police never spotted the vehicle and "had no reason to believe" Hobbs had parked the vehicle and injured the child in the area, Newell said.

The car was found in a heavily wooded area and likely would have only been visible from the air, Newell said.

More:
- Car, Bodies Found in Connection With Case of Missing Girl Aja Johnson
- OSBI Pleads For Safe Return of Aja Johnson
- Search Continues for Missing Oklahoma Girl as Authorities Investigate Her Mother's Death
- OSBI Working Against Time to Find Missing 7-Year-Old
- Alleged Murderer's Family Pleads For Release of Aja Johnson
- Search Continues for Missing Oklahoma Girl
- Surveillance Photos Show Kidnapping, Murder Suspect on Day of Murder