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West Wendover, Nev. • A high school senior was arrested Monday as a suspect in the killing of a 16-year-old schoolmate whose body was found in a shallow desert grave near the Utah-Nevada line.

Police said they arrested Kody Patten, 18, about 2 a.m. and booked him into the Elko County Jail on suspicion of murder.

He was being held without bail in the death of Micaela "Mickey" Constanzo, a popular student-athlete at West Wendover High School who disappeared after track practice Thursday.

School officials confirmed the two knew each other but released few other details.

Patten had talked of trying to enlist in the military upon graduation in the spring, with an eye on the Marine Corps, Vice Principal Craig Kyllonen said.

"You are talking about a school of 300 kids, so they all kind of know each other," Kyllonen told The Associated Press on Monday.

He said he could not confirm earlier reports that the two had once dated, but he knew Patten currently has a different girlfriend.

Elko County Sheriff's Deputy Jim Carpenter told the AP that Patten and Costanzo were acquaintances "of some kind" but declined to comment further. He said no initial court appearance had been scheduled, and he did not know if Patten had obtained a lawyer. He said the cause of death had not been determined.

Costanzo, a strong student who played on the basketball team, was last seen leaving practice about 5:40 p.m. Thursday.

More than 100 volunteers helped look for her Saturday, and a searcher discovered the freshly dug grave about five miles west of the town. Costanzo's body was recovered the next day. An autopsy was planned for Monday.

Friends said Costanzo was well-liked by her classmates.

"She was so sweet, like she would never do anything to anybody," said Laura Botello, a junior at the school. "Then just out of nowhere she disappears just like that in broad daylight."

School officials opened the high school for staff and students to gather Saturday. Students created makeshift memorials with flowers and candles.

"It's very solemn," said high school counselor Anne Crawford. "There's lots of tears and there's a lot of people very scared or nervous."