Missing NAU graduate found dead in desert, reportedly murdered by best friend

GILBERT, AZ (AZFamily) – We have learned that a missing person case in Gilbert has turned into the sensational murder of a young NAU graduate who was working as a project engineer.

24-year-old Alijah Bradley was first reported missing in mid-August.

Now we have learned where and how his remains were found in the desert, and the alleged suspect is his best friend.

This development had to be brought to light gradually, as some of the case files were sealed on Thursday.

Yet we now know when Alijah Bradley's remains were found in the desert near Gila Bend, just days after he was reported missing.

Alijah Bradley recently celebrated his 24th birthday. As a recent NAU graduate and project engineer, he is often seen smiling and happy in photos, which is how his family remembers him.

They struggle to understand his recent murder, which led to the arrest of a friend Alijah trusted.

“You hear about it on podcasts and stuff and you never think that something like this could happen to someone you love,” said Alijah's close relative, who wished to remain anonymous.

She said they reported Alijah missing to Gilbert police on August 15.

He was absent from work and, unusually, his mother had not heard from him either.

They said Alijah's mother had the Life360 app on her phone and tracked her son's phone … to a location they knew.

“She logged back in and saw that his last location was Sam's apartment,” she said. “And then suddenly his phones were turned off.”

The relative said 23-year-old Samuel Bush was a childhood friend of Alijah's, but when asked about the last time Alijah's phone beeped, he told his family he did not know where Alijah was.

Alijah's family then called Toyota to ask if they could get the GPS coordinates of his car, which they passed on to the police.

“They gave them the coordinates that the car was in the middle of nowhere,” she said.

The desolate desert near Gila Bend provided police with a new lead.

There, on August 19, a few days after he was reported missing, they found not only his car but also the remains of Alijah Bradley.

This relative described what he was told about the conditions, which were far worse than expected.

“I was told he died from a gunshot wound to the back and that he was found without a head,” she said. “And something so cruel and so graphic that it's almost crazy to think that someone is capable of such a thing.”

Sam Bush was arrested a day after the discovery, but only for growing and distributing marijuana and mushrooms from his apartment. Then, just this Wednesday, he was also charged with premeditated murder and concealing body parts.

As for the motive, Alijah's family is completely confused.

“We honestly don't know. He was Sam's best friend. He was Sam's only friend,” she said.

While they hope to understand more in the coming weeks, they choose to celebrate a life well lived… a life that has only just begun.

“How capable he was and how successful he would be or could have been,” she said.

Samuel Bush is currently being held on $1.5 million cash bail – an extremely high bail amount for a second-degree murder charge.

If you would like to donate to Alijah's family and funeral expenses, you can do so here.

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