The shooting deaths of two 16-year-old boys found with half a mile of each other on Interstate 5 in Seattle are connected, authorities say.

Washington State Patrol Trooper Rick Johnson told KING investigators made the determination after speaking with the boys’ families.

The state police were called shortly after 10:30 p.m. Thursday by a driver who reported seeing a person in the northbound lane of the highway and thought they had been struck by a car, the Seattle Times reported. Troopers arrived and found the boy with gunshot wounds and no signs of having been in a vehicular accident.

At about 8 a.m. on Friday, another motorist reported a body in a ditch in the same area. The second body was found on a ramp near North 85th Street. Both teens died from gunshot wounds.

The King County Medical Examiner identified the first victim as Jahez S. Phillips. The identify of the second victim has not yet been released.

Investigators have not yet determined if the boys were shot elsewhere and their bodies dumped.

“We’re trying to figure out who did this and whether this occurred on the freeway or someplace else,” Johnson said.

State Department of Transportation cameras in the area don’t record video, he said, and investigators have not found any cameras from businesses or residences that captured anything useful.

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[Featured image: KING screenshot]