Phylicia Barnes 16, Monroe, NC missing Baltimore, Md 12/28/10(Found Deceased)

[Nut44x4]

I had no doubts   

[yuknomenot]

The result I expected and it's still horrendously tragic.  Now they are saying 2 bodies were found and that it was a random abduction?  Right.  I still say they are protecting someone involved.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.wbaltv.com/r/27624491/detail.html
Authorities Confirm Body Is Phylicia Barnes
2 Bodies Pulled From Susquehanna River On Wednesday
April 21, 2011

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The medical examiner confirmed Thursday afternoon that one of the bodies found Wednesday is that of Phylicia Barnes, who disappeared from the Baltimore area on Dec. 28.
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Police said two troopers crossing the Conowingo Dam were flagged down by people working there at about 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday. The female body was pulled from the river at about 10 a.m. The man's body was found about 2 p.m., police said.

Miller reported that the area north of the dam where Barnes was found isn't easy to reach.

Police have not yet identified the man, but the 11 News source said police believe he and Barnes are linked. Previous news articles I've read have either said it wasn't known if the two bodies were linked, or that police didn't think the bodies were linked. 

Miller reported there was no identification on either of the victims, and neither of the bodies were clothed. The source said the conditions of the bodies were very similar.

 ::snipping2::


Maryland State Police homicide detectives are investigating the case, which Miller said was unusual. She said Maryland Natural Resources Police normally handle cases of bodies pulled from the state's waterways.
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My comment in blue.  I was wondering about this... 

[Gypsy DD]

http://www.wbaltv.com/r/27624491/detail.html
Authorities Confirm Body Is Phylicia Barnes
2 Bodies Pulled From Susquehanna River On Wednesday
April 21, 2011

 ::snipping2::
The medical examiner confirmed Thursday afternoon that one of the bodies found Wednesday is that of Phylicia Barnes, who disappeared from the Baltimore area on Dec. 28.
 ::snipping2::
Police said two troopers crossing the Conowingo Dam were flagged down by people working there at about 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday. The female body was pulled from the river at about 10 a.m. The man's body was found about 2 p.m., police said.

Miller reported that the area north of the dam where Barnes was found isn't easy to reach.

Police have not yet identified the man, but the 11 News source said police believe he and Barnes are linked. Previous news articles I've read have either said it wasn't known if the two bodies were linked, or that police didn't think the bodies were linked. 

Miller reported there was no identification on either of the victims, and neither of the bodies were clothed. The source said the conditions of the bodies were very similar.

 ::snipping2::


Maryland State Police homicide detectives are investigating the case, which Miller said was unusual. She said Maryland Natural Resources Police normally handle cases of bodies pulled from the state's waterways.
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My comment in blue.  I was wondering about this... 

Since it says a News 11 source..I am thinking it maybe very accurate..particularly with a 8pm news conference from the State Police tonight.  IF they are connected..then that means more then 1 person had to be involved, in my mind anyway.  How do you remove two people from an apartment and get them into the water that far out of the way if you are one person by yourself?  And both naked..well I guess we will find out soon enough.

[texasmom]

So sad... 

Thankful that she has been found.  Now I hope they can figure out what happened to her, and who is responsible.

RIP Phylicia   

[MuffyBee]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/phylicia-barnes-missing-north-carolina-teen-found-dead/story?id=13430724
Phylicia Barnes, Missing North Carolina Teen, Found Dead Near Baltimore; Cause of Death Unknown
April 21, 2011

Police do not yet know what caused the death of Phylicia Barnes, a star student from North Carolina whose naked body was found in a Maryland river Wednesday, or the death of a black male whose unclothed body was found three to four miles downstream.
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"We're now at stage one of a new phase of the investigation," Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld told reporters this evening. "There's a mountain of investigative work that needs to be done."

Preliminary autopsies failed to determine what caused the deaths of Barnes or the unidentified male, said Terrence Sheridan, superintendent of the Maryland State Police, and there was no evidence linking the two deaths other than the proximity of their bodies.

"There was no indication of any overt wounds or injuries to Phylicia Barnes' body," Sheridan said.

"Nothing was found on the bodies, attached to the bodies when we recovered them from the river," he added.
 ::snipping2::
The identity of the second body -- a 6-foot-4, 240-pound, black male -- was not immediately clear. Police were trying to identify him through fingerprint records, Sheridan said.
 ::snipping2::

"The medical examiner has indicated to us that it's not out of the realm of possibility that the body could have been there" in the river since the time of Barnes' disappearance, Sheridan said.

The cold water could have preserved the body, he said, and the swiftness of the river flow may make it difficult to learn where Barnes entered the river.

"When you look at that river, how fast it's moving when the floodgates opened, anything could have happened," Sheridan said.
 ::snipping2::

[MuffyBee]

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/search-begins-for-phylicia-919934.html
Search begins for Phylicia Barnes' killer
Body of Clayton couple's daughter recovered from river in Maryland
April 22, 2011

The search for  Phylicia Barnes, a missing teenager with metro Atlanta ties, came to a tragic conclusion Thursday when her body was found in a Maryland River. The discovery ends the search phase of the case and begins the investigation into who killed her.
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Maryland State Police have 12 homicide investigators working with Baltimore police on the investigation, Maryland State Police Superintendent Col. Terrence Sheridan said Thursday.

"We're not going to spare any expense to try to find out what happened to these two people," he said. "It's going to take a lot of work."

There were no signs of injury to Barnes' body, Sheridan said. Neither body had clothes on.
 ::snipping2::
More than 100 detectives -- including half of the Baltimore police's homicide unit -- as well as Maryland State Police and the FBI had been assigned to Barnes' case. Authorities were using helicopters, cadaver dogs, and other investigative tools to try and find her.

Authorities have interviewed more than 25 so-called “persons of interest,” but no one has risen to the level of a suspect, said Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi, speaking to the AJC in March.

Investigators are pursing the case as an abduction and as a homicide, he said.

Authorities had gone to North Carolina and other areas to interview people but had found no reason to go to Atlanta, he told the AJC.
 ::snipping2::

[akmom]

I almost hate to speculate...but, I do have to wonder,   if this is a case where 2 people were impaired, possibly under the influence of drugs/alcohol and were maybe skinny dipping or having sex and were so impaired that they drowned?  Hope this isn't offensive to anyone, I have not followed this case closely, but cannot see why both bodies would be without clothing, unless this would be the case.

[Gypsy DD]

I almost hate to speculate...but, I do have to wonder,   if this is a case where 2 people were impaired, possibly under the influence of drugs/alcohol and were maybe skinny dipping or having sex and were so impaired that they drowned?  Hope this isn't offensive to anyone, I have not followed this case closely, but cannot see why both bodies would be without clothing, unless this would be the case.

akmom.. Respectfully, I don't think either of them would have entered that water on December 28th.  It was freezing out and hypothermia would have set in fast.  I wonder if they didn't witness something they shouldn't have and were then given a knockout drug and taken to the water and tossed in..it appears with the no clothing /no ID someone didn't want them found nor identified..possibly hoping the fish and climate would do their thing.  Which begs the question..where are their clothes now? 

[Samarie]

I almost hate to speculate...but, I do have to wonder,   if this is a case where 2 people were impaired, possibly under the influence of drugs/alcohol and were maybe skinny dipping or having sex and were so impaired that they drowned?  Hope this isn't offensive to anyone, I have not followed this case closely, but cannot see why both bodies would be without clothing, unless this would be the case.

akmom.. Respectfully, I don't think either of them would have entered that water on December 28th.  It was freezing out and hypothermia would have set in fast.  I wonder if they didn't witness something they shouldn't have and were then given a knockout drug and taken to the water and tossed in..it appears with the no clothing /no ID someone didn't want them found nor identified..possibly hoping the fish and climate would do their thing.  Which begs the question..where are their clothes now? 

akmom - I hadn't thought of that scenario, however I tend to agree with Gypsy, given the time of year and the water temperatures at the time...

It has crossed my mind that this was an abduction and sexual assault, perhaps something went terribly wrong, and Phylicia ended up dead and then the abductor killed himself...murder-suicide if you will. We'll know more when they identify the male's body and what, if any, connection he has to Phylicia and her family.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/news/crime_checker/baltimore_city_crime/investigators-face-challenges-investigating-death-of-phylicia-barnes
Investigators face challenges investigating death of Phylicia Barnes
Reward money rescinded
April 22, 2011

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While the preliminary autopsy produced a positive identification of Barnes based on her dental records and a rose tattoo on her leg, a dozen state police homicide detectives will now join forces with investigators from the city police department to try to determine what happened to the honor roll student from North Carolina.

The discovery of a second body three miles downstream from that of Barnes may hold the key to the investigation.

"The male has not been identified. His cause and manner of death has not been determined, but the medical examiner's indicated it's a black male. He's six foot four... 240 pounds," said Col. Terrence Sheridan, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.

If investigators are to find an answer to Barnes’ disappearance and death, it will come without the help of a $25,000 reward offered by her school, Union Academy, in Monroe, North Carolina.

The school offered that money for information leading to her safe return, and it has now been rescinded.

State Police say they are running the fingerprints of the male victim through their automated identification system here in Maryland and through the FBI’s database in hopes of finding out who he is.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/father-daughters-body-found-920513.html
Father: Daughter's body found, now work begins
April 22, 2011

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uthorities used dental records to identify Barnes' body Thursday and they are trying to identify the body of a man found a few miles away. Investigators have not matched the man to any missing people reports or fingerprint records, but the search is continuing, police spokesman Greg Shipley said Friday.

Barnes said he does not have any idea who the man could be.

There were no signs of injury or wounds to Barnes when her body was found, Maryland State Police Superintendent Col. Terrence Sheridan said Thursday. The cause and how she and the other man died have not been determined and it is not clear if there is any connection between the two. Neither body had clothes on.
 ::snipping2::
The Susquehanna is a cold river and it is possible Barnes' body had been in the river since shortly after her disappearance and was only recently stirred up by warmer weather and storms, Sheridan said.
 ::snipping2::

[Bearlyhere]

So very sad.

 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/news/crime_checker/baltimore_city_crime/barnes-family-refocuses-on-finding-out-what-happened-and-why
Video
Barnes family refocuses on finding out what happened and why
Family to start new reward fund for info
April 23, 2011


 ::snipping2::
Emily Agueda is a family friend.

She skates with two of Barnes' cousins on the Charm City Roller girls.

The focus now she says is to continue raising money, no longer for Barnes' safe return but rather information leading to what happened.

The goal is to build on the two thousand dollar crime stoppers reward creating a financial incentive to solve the complicated and painful puzzle.

"Obviously we have a renewed effort and a new goal so we are checking in with everybody that expressed support before hoping that we can have a nice reward fund to advertise again," said Agueda.

The reward to find Phylicia grew to about 30 thousand dollars.

Barnes' high school donated 25 thousand of that money for her safe return. The school has now taken that money off the table leaving the fund depleted.

If you would like to donate to the family’s new cause of finding out what happened to the North Carolina teen...you can do so at findphylicia.com.

[SuzieQ]

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2011/04/24/phylicia-barnes-family-searching-for-answers/

Phylicia Barnes’ Family Searching For Answers
April 24, 2011 10:00 AM

WINDSOR MILL, Md. (WJZ)—A family looking for answers. Phylicia Barnes’ relatives speak for the first time since her body was found in the Susquehanna River.

Phylicia Barnes’ older sister and brother said that they had faith she would come back alive. But they say when they heard about the body in the Conowingo Dam, something in their gut told them it could be their little sister. And now they are desperate to find out how she got there.

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And right now, the family is planning a memorial service for sometime in early May. They are looking for a venue big enough. They say they expect thousands of people from across the country to attend.

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[MuffyBee]

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/04/25/2248184/phylicia-barnes-half-brother-no.html
Phylicia Barnes' half brother: No reason to be near dam
April 25, 2011

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In Maryland, Bryan Barnes told the Baltimore Sun that family members are not aware of any time when Phylicia might have traveled anywhere near the Conowingo Dam. He told the Baltimore newspaper he doubts that his half sister would have awakened Dec. 28 and decided, without telling anyone, that she would head to northeastern Maryland on a whim.

"That doesn't make any type of sense," said Bryan Barnes, 23, a Maryland firefighter. "She had no reason to be there -- no reason whatsoever."

Barnes said his family also doesn't know of anyone else missing in the case. A man's body was found in the river, a few miles south of the dam, about four hours after Phylicia's body was discovered.
 ::snipping2::

[MuffyBee]

http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/School-to-comment-on-students-death-during-news-conference-120593364.html
School to comment on student’s death during news conference
April 25, 2011

[cookie]

so sad..
I wonder if Phylicia did witness something that she shouldn't have as another monkey suggested? hopefully we will get some answers soon..
RIP Phylicia...

[MuffyBee]

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/27661248/detail.html
Video
Classmates Remember Phylicia Barnes As Investigation Continues
April 25, 2011

MONROE, N.C. -- Baltimore police have labeled the case of 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes a “suspicious death investigation.”
Barnes, who lived in Monroe, went missing in late December while visiting relatives in Baltimore. Months of extensive searching turned up no clues in her disappearance.
Then, last week, investigators pulled Barnes’ body from Maryland’s Susquehanna River. An unidentified man was found dead in the river on the same day.

Police said they have not established a connection between Barnes and the man and are unsure if the two cases are connected.
 ::snipping2::

School officials said FBI agents made several trips to the school after Barnes disappeared to interview students and faculty members.

Investigators are still awaiting autopsy results for Barnes. A preliminary report did not reveal the teen’s cause of death.

A memorial service for Barnes will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Lee Park Baptist Church in Monroe.

[SuzieQ]

Apparently the male body has no connection to Phylicia. Probably a suicide.


http://www.wbtv.com/story/14489206/detectives-investigating-missing-monroe-teen-case-notified-of-bodies-found-in-md-river

Police identify man found dead in same river as Phylicia Barnes

MONROE, NC (WBTV) - Maryland State Police have identified the man whose body was found floating in Maryland's Susquehanna River last week, a spokesperson told WBTV.com.

Darryl Harper, 53, of Richmond, VA, was found 4 miles away from the body of Monroe honor student Phylicia Barnes April 20.

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 It was learned Harper's wife reported him missing on April 15, 2011. Harper's wife told investigators she and her husband had lived in Cheektowaga, New York until November 2009, when they moved to an apartment in Cockeysville, Md. They lived there until February 2011, when they moved to Richmond.
Harper's wife said her husband left Richmond in early March 2011, to travel to their former apartment in Cockeysville to pick up items. She said she received a call from her husband in mid- March and that was the last time she talked with him.
Mrs. Harper told investigators a relative in the Harrisburg, PA area had called to tell her Darryl Harper had checked himself into a hospital in East Penn, PA, on the Susquehanna River, on March 25, 2011, requesting help with mental health issues. Police learned he stayed in the hospital one night. According to Mrs. Harper, her husband told a relative in March he was going to jump off a bridge. She said her husband had attempted suicide in 2006.
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