Body of Ala. Teen, 17, Was Found Stabbed and Beaten in Creek, and 3 Girls Are Charged with Murder

Lesley Luna Pantaleon's body was found on July 4, more than a week after she vanished

Photo: Montgomery Police Department

Three Alabama teenagers have been charged with capital murder in the death of a 17-year-old girl whose body was later found in a creek.

Lesley Luna Pantaleon was last seen leaving her house on June 24. She was driving her mother's 2006 Blue Chevrolet Trailblazer. When she didn't return home, her family called police to report her missing -- but authorities were unable to find any trace of the missing teen. Five days after her disappearance, CrimeStoppers sent out a release, asking for the public's assistance in finding her.

But police now say that Pantaleon was already dead. Acting on a tip, police searched nearby Catoma Creek on July 4, where they found her body. According to WSFA-TV, her remains were then taken to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for an autopsy.

On Tuesday, authorities made three arrests in Pantaleon's death. The suspects, all 16-year- old girls, were charged with capital murder, according to multiple reports. (PEOPLE is not identifying the suspects by name because they are minors.)

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According to court records released on Tuesday afternoon, Pantaleon was killed on the same day she vanished. She had allegedly gotten into a fight with the three girls, and was beaten with a metal pole and stabbed to death near the creek where she was found.

The three suspects allegedly took Panteleon's Trailblazer and phone after her death.

The three girls booked into the Montgomery County Detention Facility on Tuesday. They are being charged as adults and held without bond. Court records do not name attorneys authorized to speak on their behalf. They have not yet entered pleas.