Two skeletons were of siblings

Authorities are trying to determine the cause of death for two young siblings whose skeletal remains were discovered in a Kern County storage unit.

Investigators said Tuesday that dental records identified the victims as Victor and Tricia Reyes. The brother and sister had been dead between two and four years when the discovery of a severed hand Aug. 19 led detectives to search a Derrell’s Mini Storage unit in Bakersfield.

The county coroner says the children appeared to be between 10 and 11 years old at the time of their deaths.

Police say their mother, Alecia Valadez, died earlier this year of a drug overdose. Their father lives in Mexico.

Investigators say Child Protective Services was involved with the woman’s older children but that she apparently had kept the existence of the other two hidden from authorities.