Federal investigators have uncovered a new lead in the cold case murder of a New Mexico musician who vanished from a motel recording session under suspicious circumstances, his mother says.

Zachariah Shorty was last seen alive on July 21, 2020, at the Journey Inn in Farmington, New Mexico, a close-knit town in the northwestern part of the state on the edge of the Navajo Nation.

He was a 23-year-old musician and had gone to the motel to record with a group of four other people.

The exact circumstances of how he left are unclear. His mother, Evangeline “Vangie” Randall-Shorty, received a phone call from one of his friends around 11 p.m. The caller told her that her son went outside to smoke a cigarette and never returned.

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But when Randall-Shorty called her son’s phone, the same friend answered.

“[She] answered it and said Zach left his phone,” she told Fox News Digital. “I asked if he was back. She said, ‘no.’ Zach never leaves his phone.”

Randall-Shorty had gone to the motel around 7 that night to drop off a pizza for her son.

One of the last things he told her was “I’m going to finish this track.”

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Zachariah Shorty was 23 years old when he was “taken” from a motel where he was recording music with four other individuals. Authorities found him dead with gunshot wounds 13 miles away, four days later. (FBI)

He was missing for four days before investigators found his remains in a field on the Navajo Reservation. He suffered gunshot wounds before his killer or killers left him there.

“I say ‘taken’ because he was found in Nenahnezad, in a field, on a dirt road,” his mother said. 

That’s 13 miles from where he was last seen in Farmington, and you’d have to pass his home in Kirtland to get there.

Although later this month will mark four years since the slaying, Randall-Shorty said investigators have given her a new glimmer of hope for justice.

“I got a call from the FBI, that they had a new lead,” she told Fox News Digital. “I’m just hoping and praying that that is the lead that we need to solve Zach’s case.”

They asked her if she recognized a couple of names, she said. She did. 

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Zachariah Shorty was said to have left the motel to smoke a cigarette by the same friend who later picked up his phone when his mother called it, she says. (FBI)

“After the update from them (the FBI), I did get another tip, and I passed the information to them as well,” she said. “The same names keep coming up.”

The FBI declined to comment on the case, citing the ongoing investigation. But Randall-Shorty and her lawyer are hopeful that investigators will bring her son’s killer to justice.

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“In this case, there were witnesses in that hotel room that were with him prior to him going missing,” said Darlene Gomez, the attorney representing Shorty’s mother pro bono. “The family has provided many, many leads. There’s a body that was found. It’s a small community. These are generally the precursors for a case being solved.”

Gomez, who operates a nonprofit dedicated to solving missing and murder cases involving indigenous women and their relatives, MMIWR, said that businesses up and down the street had surveillance cameras, too.

But as the case dragged on, several witnesses died, she said.

The FBI has jurisdiction because Shorty’s remains were discovered on tribal land.

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There is a $10,000 reward offered for information that cracks the case and leads to a conviction.

Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI at 505-889-1300 or go to tips.fbi.gov.

Fox News’ Peter Petroff contributed to this report.

After more than 70 juveniles were detained and cited Saturday night in connection with a major disturbance at a mall in Carson, some parents and relatives of the kids are calling the law enforcement presence excessive.  

Deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department responded to the SouthBay Pavillion Mall around 5:30 p.m. on reports of a large and unruly gathering of an estimated 200 minors that prompted the mall to close earlier than normal.  

Authorities said that some of the juveniles were setting off illegal fireworks inside a store at the mall and that someone else started a fire inside of a trashcan.  

Dispersal orders were issued but the crowd reportedly refused to comply. Officials said that more law enforcement backup was called to the scene as the teens were disrupting business and endangering shoppers. 

Sheriff’s deputies set up a perimeter and were, at one point, seen jumping into bushes to detain some of the teens, many of whom were seen scrambling to get out of the mall as law enforcement officers arrived.  

Jamila Buie’s 16-year-old nephew was one of the 73 teens detained and told KTLA that she believes the law enforcement response was over the top.  

“I feel like they should’ve only detained the ones that started the fire, not all the kids,” she explained to KTLA’s Carlos Saucedo. “It’s only 30 people. They said they had video of the kids that started the fire.” 

Deputies issued the minors citations for failure to disperse and disturbing the peace. Parents were forced to come and collect their children, with some saying their kids should never have been held by deputies.  

“He’s 11-year-old, exactly,” Amber Lyn, whose son was detained, told KTLA. “No paperwork, never been in trouble. He gets straight A’s and he’s an athlete.”  

A similar incident occurred late last year at the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance that led to curfews and the requirement that minors be accompanied by adults while in the shopping center.  

At the mall in Carson, there were no reports of any injuries or thefts from any shops Saturday night.  

On Sunday, the mall was back open for business, though with a visible presence of security on hand.  

In a news release on Sunday, Carson Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes said: 

“Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes commented, “The safety and well-being of our residents and businesses are our top priority. We are taking immediate steps to ensure such incidents do not recur. Our community’s strength lies in our ability to come together and address challenges head-on. I commend the Sheriff’s Department for their quick action and the community for their cooperation.” 

While it’s unclear what those steps might entail, there were other shoppers who said they were rattled by the incident.  

“I come to the mall often here,” San Pedro resident Michelle Brooks said. “I think it’s ridiculous. Parents need to get a hold of their children at all times.”