Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Body Found is Missing FBI Agent, Police Say

The body found matches the physical description of Stephen Ivens, the Burbank Police said Tuesday.

Remains found in the Burbank Foothills have been identified as missing FBI agent Stephen Ivens, according to a Burbank Police Department advisory on Tuesday. 

On Monday night, two hikers smelled a suspicious odor in the 3600 block of Scott Road. After checking the area, they discovered what appeared to be human remains, and called the Burbank Police Department. 

Investigators responded to the area and noted "consistencies with the physical description of missing FBI Agent Stephen Ivens,'' the advisory stated. The cause of death is not yet known, and official identification will be conducted through the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner. 

Ivens' family has been informed of the discovery, and is working with investigators from the Burbank Police Department and Los Angeles County Coroner’s office.

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Ivens was last seen by his family on the evening of May 10, and was reported missing from his Burbank home on May 11, just after 7 a.m.

The 35-year-old a special agent with the FBI's Los Angeles division was described by officials as despondent and suicidal. 

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Search and rescue teams combed the Verdugo Mountains above Montrose-La Crescenta, Glendale and Burbank and ended the search by May 24. 

A Facebook page created by Ivens' family, Let's Bring Steve Home, posted daily updates from his wife Thea, and linked to a website created to help spread the word of his disappearance. The Facebook page has garnered 713 "likes'' since its creation.

On Monday, titled "80 Days,'' Thea Ivens' post read:

"Steve is a New England sports fan – Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics, and Bruins. Our home is here in LA but he’s a Bostonian through and through. He would also check out local news in Boston online whenever he gets the chance.

We used to go and visit his family twice a year and when the little munchkin was born, it went down to once a year because it’s so hard to travel with an infant. So, my mother-in-law would visit us even though she doesn’t like long haul flights. It’s great for us because our little munchkin loves her Nana and she dotes on him as well.

Thank God for Skype we get to do a video chat with her from time to time. The little munchkin would entertain them with antics, playing around, dancing, singing and would recite his ABC’s, count his numbers or show them some shapes and colors. Or he would make animal sounds. One of his favorite things to do is to show Nana the difference of a small and big dinosaur’s roar. It’s just hilarious and adorable. It’s just strange doing a video chat with my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law without Steve around.

One of my hope is that if for some reason Steve couldn’t get back to California, somehow he would reach out to his mom and sister, back  in his hometown in Massachusetts.''

Check back with Patch for more details about this breaking news story. 


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