Authorities have arrested and booked Loretto Kyle Alegria in death of 7-year-old girl in Ajo

Pima County Sheriff's detectives have arrested a 19-year-old man in connection with the death of a 7-year-old girl found in a wash in Ajo on Thursday evening.

Deputy Dawn Barkman says leads and evidence at the wash helped detectives find additional evidence in a home where they believe the girl was murdered before being dumped.

Authorities have arrested and booked Loretto Kyle Alegria into the county jail on suspicion of first-degree murder.

Barkman says two young girls riding their bicycles spotted the body and called for help from a nearby home. Detectives investigated the death as a homicide because of apparent blunt force trauma. The child's name was not released.

Ajo is about 40 miles south of Gila Bend.