A Humboldt County mother accused of hiding her child’s death for months was arrested in a small Indiana town after investigators traced her across state lines in a case that began with a missing person report and ended with the discovery of human remains in a remote wooded area near Blue Lake. Law enforcement said 32-year-old Nichole Thorpe was taken into custody April 29th in Redkey, Indiana nearly two and a half years after detectives first learned a juvenile had vanished from the lives of family members without explanation. The investigation began December 3rd of 2023, when the Arcata Police Department asked the Eureka Police to assist in a missing person case. During the investigation, detectives learned the child had not been seen by relatives for an extended period of time and investigators believed the child was dead, with the death allegedly concealed by Thorpe. The next day, Eureka detectives joined the Humboldt County Search and Rescue Team, the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office and Cal Poly Humboldt personnel in searching a remote area near Blue Lake. During the search, investigators located human remains. DNA testing later confirmed the remains belonged to the missing child.