Suspect Arrested for Murder of Teen Campers in Tonto National Forest

Thomas Henry Brown, 31, is being held on a $2 million cash bond for two counts of first-degree murder after authorities say he shot and killed Pandora Kjolsrud, 18, and Evan Clark, 17, on May 26, 2025. The murders took place at a campsite on Mt. Ord, which is part of Arizona’s Tonto National Forest.

The murders shocked local residents as the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) struggled for months to detain a suspect. But according to a report from that office obtained by MeatEater, detectives zeroed in on Brown after his DNA was found in Clark’s vehicle, on both victims, and on gloves found near Clark’s vehicle.

“Based on the evidence collected, Thomas Brown provided false or misleading information regarding his involvement. Despite stating he was never inside V2’s [Clark’s] vehicle, Thomas Brown’s DNA evidence was recovered from inside the vehicle, directly contradicting that claim,” the report reads. “Additionally, Thomas’ DNA evidence was collected inside the two gloves located near V2’s vehicle, containing DNA from both V1 [Kjolsrud] and V2 [Clark]. V1’s blood was present on the exterior of both gloves.”

Mugshot of Brown via MCSO.

Clark and Kjolsrud had gone camping on Mt. Ord on Sunday, May 25th, according to Clark’s mother, Sandra Sweeney. But when they didn’t return home by the next day, Kjolsrud’s mother called the Gila County Sheriff’s Office to report that her daughter was missing.

Deputies arrived on the scene and found Clark’s vehicle, a 1998 Mercedes-Benz SUV, and noticed blood on the rear bumper. The rear door was unlocked, and they also found a bloody pillowcase inside.

They found the teens’ campsite a short time later and followed what appeared to be drag marks in the dirt heading towards a fenceline. They crossed the fence and found the bodies of the two victims 10 to 20 feet away.

Both Clark and Kjolsrud had been shot multiple times and were pronounced dead at the scene.

Brown first appeared on law enforcement’s radar when he volunteered his drone footage to help with the investigation.

“One of the tips received was from a male subject who was identified as Thomas Brown, who advised he was camping on Mount Ord on 05/25/25,” according to the report. “Thomas advised he flew his own personal drone on the mountain and had video which he wished to share.”

That account is corroborated by a since-deleted Reddit post that was made by an account that appears to belong to Brown.

“This weekend my wife, pup, and I checked it out for the first time and it was great. Terrible news to hear when my wife came home and told me what happened. Devastating to see this happen to these two who literally are just starting their adult life,” the post reads, adding, “EDIT Called the tip line; I have some drone footage from the weekend.”

In interviews with law enforcement, Brown admitted to camping on Mt. Ord on the day of the murders. He said his wife left on the morning of Sunday, May 25th, and he was by himself until he left on the morning of the next day. He was also seen by a separate group of five campers on the evening of May 25th.

Thomas admitted to interacting with the victims while at a campsite near the top of the mountain. He provided accurate descriptions of the teens and their vehicles, but he denied having physical contact with them or entering their vehicles. Instead, he said, he went back to his car and drove it back up to that campsite near the top of the mountain, but Clark’s SUV was no longer there.

The five campers who saw Thomas told law enforcement they interacted with Thomas throughout the evening. They said they observed Thomas’ blue Kia Rio parked near Clark’s vehicle and told detectives they perceived Thomas as “strange.”

Along with the DNA evidence collected from the victims and their vehicles, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office found belongings from both victims along a trail Brown claims to have hiked. On September 27, 2025 (over four months after the homicides took place), MCSO homicide detectives returned to Mt. Ord and attempted to retrace the routes Brown claims to have traveled. Along that trail, they found “items… associated with the victims from social media posts and video surveillance obtained from a store.”

The sheriff’s office does not say what those items were, but investigators claim the fact that they were found along a trail Brown admitted to hiking is further evidence of his guilt.

Brown was married but does not appear to have any children.

He owned and operated Brown’s Brush, which sells 3D-printed handguards and stocks for firearms. He also at one point sold painted, 3D-printed figurines.

Authorities say he was a veteran of the U.S. Army, which he references in a Reddit post from last week.

“My psychiatrist resigned when Donald and DOGE started impacting the VA and I still haven’t been able to get in for an appointment; in over 200 days lol. I’ve had nurses call me to make sure all is well with me, apologize, and ensure I’ve been getting my prescriptions,” he wrote.

Brown was extremely active on Reddit, posting multiple times per week for the past seven years. He would occasionally post about politics and firearms to accounts such as r/Trumpvirus and r/MarchAgainstNazis, which describes itself as “an Antifascist/Anti-Nazi subreddit standing AGAINST radical white nationalist terrorists and other hate groups and enablers, both on-site and off.”

Law enforcement has not released a motive for Brown’s alleged actions, and MCSO’s Captain David Lee declined to speculate when asked about it at a press conference.

Lee did confirm that Brown does not appear to have known either victim.

The families of both teens have remembereded their kids in comments given to the media.

“He was a very happy, funny, helpful, wonderful person. I think a lot of people always want to think of their child, living or dead, as this great human being. He actually really was a great human being,” Sandra Sweeney, Clark’s mother, told MeatEater.

Sweeney recalls a time not long ago when she was in a car accident and her son was the first person who came to help her.

“He was the first person that came. And he was sitting there talking to the police officers, and he’s like a little adult. He’s a 17-year-old boy who, if you didn’t know him, you’d think he was 25. And he’s having a conversation with the officers, and they’re like, wow, you’re really a responsible young man. You show up here for your mom,” she said.

Simone Kjolsrud, Pandora’s mother, remembered her daughter in remarks during a press conference announcing Brown’s arrest.

“My daughter, Pandora, was a beautiful, brilliant light in this world. She was so full of life and joy and love. She was the type of person you never forget after meeting her. She was always up for an adventure and she lived every day to the fullest,” she said.

Sweeney says her son had only recently gotten into camping, but Kjolsrud’s obituary describes her as an “avid hiker.”

“She felt most at peace when she was outside in nature,” it reads. “A few of her favorite things to do were traveling, playing music, hanging out with friends, gymnastics, horseback riding, dancing to loud music, kayaking at the lake, swimming in the ocean or simply hiking a new trail. She was an avid hiker and often went to Camelback Mountain or Piestewa Peak for a morning hike or to watch a sunset.”

Brown’s next court appearance is scheduled for October 8, 2025.