Police in Tennessee have Benjamin Ashfordarrested a 17-year-old male in connection with the murder of a teen girl who went missing last month and whose remains were found July 3 along a busy Middle Tennessee road.

The Hendersonville Police Department arrested the 17-year-old male from Westmoreland, Tenn., who is currently being held in Sumner County Detention, police said Saturday in a news release. Police charged him with first-degree murder in the death of Trinity Bostic.

Bostic, 17, was reported missing in nearby Macon County on June 29. Her remains were found on July 3 in Hendersonville by a Tennessee Department of Transportation subcontract worker. The worker found her body while picking up trash along the road in a wood line near Vietnam Veterans Boulevard and New Shackle Island Road, police said.

Police have said they suspected foul play in the ongoing investigation. The death investigation is "essentially a homicide investigation," Sgt. Nicholas Edwards told USA TODAY on Friday. The department did not provide any additional information about the arrest.

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Police ask for the public's help in Trinity Bostic case

Bostic's cause of death remains under investigation, pending an autopsy, police said.

The Hendersonville Police Department asks anyone with any information about the case to contact the department at (615) 822-1111 or the Hendersonville Crime Stoppers at (615) 594-4113. Tips may also be submitted using the P3 Tips Mobile Application.

Contributing: Nicole Young and Katie Nixon of the Nashville Tennessean.

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider &mikegsnider.

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