Scared Monkeys Discussion Forum

(http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff15/sueann37/PhylisiaBarnes.jpg)
(http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff15/sueann37/13760032_BG1.jpg)

'God's gonna get you,' missing teen's mom says to whoever took daughter

By Dedrick Russell - bio l email

MONROE, NC (WBTV) - A Monroe teen who was visiting family for the holidays in Baltimore, Maryland, has been declared missing by Baltimore police.

Phylicia Simone Barnes, 16, was last seen at an apartment building on the northwestern outskirts of Baltimore, near Pikesville, at 2:30 p.m. on Dec 28.

According to the Baltimore Police Department, detectives and family members are extremely concerned for her well-being.

"My daughter has disappeared." Janice Sallis said.  "It's like she has vanished into thin air, and no one knows where she's at. Somebody knows where she's at, and I'm telling you right now, God's gonna get you."

There was a report the missing teen was spotted at a Baltimore shelter Thursday night, but that tip was inaccurate.  It was a case of mistaken identity.   The mother says that upsets her.

"All of these false leads make me feel and believe," The missing teen's mother said. "The actual culprit is trying to throw law enforcement and the media off. Someone has taken my baby against her will. This is not her character."

Phylicia's father agrees.  Russell Barnes doesn't believe his daughter just went off on her on.

"This is no runaway," The missing teen's father Russell Barnes said.  "This is no child that's just having a bad day or bad night.  We don't feel she's done fell in love cause she's not in that character."

Police say there have been no sightings of the teen.  They admit they desperately need help from the community.

"We are getting a little concerned here," Baltimore Police Officer Anthony Guglielmi said.  "That it's now approaching three days. We have contacted the Maryland State Police blood hounds Unit.  We have also notified the Baltimore police homicide section."

"If she's alive," the mom said.  "She's scared to death. For anyone who gets joy out of that, must be a sick, perverted individual."

Barnes is a senior at Union Academy High School.  Students return back to class on Monday.  Counselors will be on hand to help students cope with this ordeal.

A page, "Pray for Phylicia Barnes", has been created on Facebook. (Click here to visit page)

Baltimore Police will send detectives back to the place Phylisia was last seen to see if they can generate any leads.  Police are offering a $2500 reward for any leads that will help.

Edit to add link per SuzieQ.  MB  http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13760032
Edit to add "Found Deceased" to subject line.  MB

Forgot the link

http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13760032

(http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/lostnmissing/1ZP6lTbzvDQPNnuAY2TzpViMV4qydHVWHcP0CUcaeAFof3nn8MMBsW09lkP5/image001.jpg)

Cell phone still on? Not familiar with city but okay for her to step out and get a bite?  Sounds like they might want to stay close to home or the building fam lives in for this one.  I hope she's just lost and someone can find her.

http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/news/region/baltimore_city/vigil-held-for-missing-nc-teenager

video at site.

Vigil held for missing NC teenager

Posted: 01/02/2011

BALTIMORE - Family and friends gathered together Saturday night in hopes that prayers will help find a missing teenage girl and return her safely.

Phylicia Barnes was visiting friends in Baltimore last week, when she disappeared Tuesday, December 28.

Police still have no leads on her whereabouts, however, do not suspect any foul play in her disappearance.

Phylicia is unfamiliar with the area and doesn't know very many people.

Phylicia's mother, Janice Sallis, says that the pain of missing her daughter is worse than labor pains.

Her pain is not only mentally exhausting but also physically.

Phylicia's father, Russell Barnes, is hoping that his prayers will join that of others to bring her home safely.

Both parents say that they appreciate everything everyone is doing, but Janice is hoping that police treat this case as if they were looking for the president's daughter, because Phylicia is her baby and she loves her.

If anyone has any information on the whereabouts of Phylica Barnes please contact the Missing Person Unit at 443-984-7385, Northwestern Police District at 410-396-2466 or 911.

http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=154094&catid=57

NC Teen Missing Since Holiday Visit To Baltimore
 Chelsi Zash    Created:  1/3/2011 6:24:35 AM  Updated: 1/3/2011 8:09:13 AM


Baltimore, MD -- A vigil was held this weekend in Baltimore, Maryland for a missing teenager.

Baltimore police are asking for the public's help in finding 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes. The teenage from Monroe, NC vanished last Tuesday.

She was visiting relatives in northwest Baltimore for the holidays. She was last seen at an apartment building complex on Eberly Drive.

Barnes' family, friends and classmates also gathered in her hometown to pray for her safe return.

Her mother arrived in Baltimore late night. She says her daughter is an honor roll student who would never run away.

"I know she's traumatized right now. She's scared out of her mind right now. She's a little innocent girl who does not do any wrong to anybody," her mother said.

"This is no runaway. This is no child that's just having a bad day or bad night. We don't feel she's done fell in love cause she's not in that character," the teen's father, Russel Barnes, said.

Police brought search dogs to the apartment complex where the teen was last seen. but relatives say the dogs lost Phylicia Barnes' scent in the parking lot.

http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/Police-believe-missing-teen-was-abducted-112810989.html

Police believe missing teen was abducted

by BEN NUCKOLS / Associated Press
BEN NUCKOLS / Associated Press
Posted on January 3, 2011 at 12:53 PM

Updated today at 4:06 PM

BALTIMORE (AP) -- A North Carolina teenager is missing after visiting relatives in Baltimore for the holidays, and police suspect foul play.

Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes was reported missing on the afternoon of Dec. 28. There's been no sign of her since, and she hasn't answered her cell phone. Guglielmi says detectives believe Barnes may have been abducted, in part because of items she left at her half-sister's apartment. He says it's possible she's been taken out of state.

Barnes is from Monroe, N.C., about 25 miles southeast of Charlotte. Her mother, Janice Sallis, says Barnes is a straight-A student who's on track to graduate early from a charter school and is already applying to colleges.

Sallis says her daughter was visiting her three older half-siblings, who live in Baltimore.

http://www.wbaltv.com/news/26353445/detail.html

video at link

Police Suspect Foul Play In Teen's Disappearance
Phylicia Barnes, From N.C., Was Visiting Relatives In Baltimore
POSTED: 1:26 pm EST January 3, 2011
UPDATED: 3:07 pm EST January 3, 2011

 BALTIMORE -- City police said Monday they fear foul play in the disappearance of a North Carolina teen who went missing while spending Christmas break with relatives in Baltimore.

Phylicia Barnes, 16, was reported missing on Dec. 28. Investigators said she disappeared from the Reisterstown Square Apartments in the 6500 block of Eberle Drive, an area that is now awash in fliers with her picture.

Barnes had a scheduled flight to North Carolina on Monday morning which she did not take.

Police said Barnes, who is from Monroe, N.C., has no history of criminal activity or running away from family.
 

"Detectives are growing increasingly concerned with this disappearance and now suspect foul play, possibly abduction," police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in an e-mail. "Investigators have no leads."

Guglielmi said city police are seeking national assistance in the case.

"It is likely that she may have been taken outside the state of Maryland," Guglielmi said.

The Baltimore City Police Department's homicide section is investigating. 

On Saturday, family and friends gathered to support each other and plea for the honor roll student's safe return.

"I know she's traumatized right now. She's scared out of her mind right now. She's a little innocent girl who does not do any harm to anyone," said the girl's mother, Janice Stallings.

When last seen, Barnes was wearing a navy pea coat with a hood, blue jeans, a turquoise shirt and white slippers.

The waiting and worrying is taking a toll on the family.

"My family is not sleeping. My family is not eating," said Barnes' father, Russell Barnes.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Baltimore City Police Department.

Stay with WBALTV.com and WBAL-TV 11 News for updates

http://www.wcnc.com/news/Police-believe-missing-Monroe-teen-might-have-been-abducted-112839959.html

Police: Missing teen might have been abducted

by ANN SHERIDAN / NewsChannel 36
Bio | Email| Follow: @AnnSheridan
WCNC.com
Posted on January 4, 2011

Missing teen's case now turned over to homicide division

BALTIMORE -- Police in Baltimore are adding manpower to their investigation, hoping to find a missing Monroe teenager who they fear might have been abducted.   

Phylicia Barnes was visting a sister in the Baltimore area last week when police say she vanished.

"She has not logged on to the Internet, Facebook, used her cell phone, this entire incident," said Baltimore Police Officer Anthony Guglielmi.

Guglielmi said investigators believe Barnes might have been abducted and taken out of state.  They are still hopeful the 16-year-old honor student is alive.

"We suspect foul play.  She's an attractive, articulate young woman and we're not ruling out abduction," he said.

Barnes' classmates at Union Academy held a vigil Monday.  "We just ask you Lord to keep her in the palm of your hand.  We have faith you'll return her to us reall soon Lord," said one of Barnes' friends during the vigil.  The students are also raising money to help with the family's travel expenses.

The Monroe teen's mother is now in Baltimore.  Janice Sallis told us she thought Barnes' older sister would take care of her younger sister.

"She knows how protective I am," said Sallis.  "I went to her last week and said 'you deceived me in every aspect.  You promised me it would be you and her and then I find out that you gave police a list you had of 20 different guys going in and out of that apartment,'" she said through tears and rage.

Police in Baltimore say they've interviewed everyone who had contact with Barnes, but don't have a suspect or a person of interest.  They plan to keep interviewing those who saw Barnes last week, but did tell us they believe the teenager might still be alive.

20 different guys! Yikes!   ::MonkeyNoNo::

4:49 p.m. EST, January 4, 2011
FBI joins hunt for N.C. teen who went missing from Baltimore
Police fear girl was a victim of foul play; detectives search Leakin Park

Baltimore police on Tuesday launched an extensive search and investigation into the disappearance of a 16-year-old girl, involving an elite FBI team and more than 100 officers who scoured a secluded city park for hours.

Authorities all but ended their search in Leakin Park around dusk, having found no signs of a body or clues to the whereabouts of Phylicia Simone Barnes of North Carolina, who had been visiting her older sister in Northwest Baltimore when she apparently vanished the afternoon of Dec. 28.

Detectives suspect foul play and have said it's a possible the teen was abducted and taken out of state. But a police spokesman told reporters Tuesday that the grim theory is based solely on the amount of time that has elapsed without uncovering a shred of information on her whereabouts.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-missing-teen-baltimore-20110104,0,2597415.story

lovely child..
this is very sad..just saw her mother on JVM..I wasn't going to get involved in another missing child thread for a while..but it tugs at my heart each and every time..
I hope that she is found alive..I pray that she is found..
why so many guys in and out of that apartment? mom also said that sister allowed Phylicia to smoke marijuana and to drink alcohol...how are the sisters related to Phylicia, as in half sisters? through mom or through the father? I am guessing through the father, who must be mom's present husband? or through bio father? bio Dad ( I assume) did not say a word on the show..

I didn't understand until tonight that it was half sisterS and not just one. It was said the apartment was basically a "flop house" for students and the doors weren't locked. The mom thinks one of the 20 men in the house took Philicia and she didn't leave on her own.

http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13782424
Internet tipster offers new locations to search for missing NC teen in Baltimore
Posted: Jan 04, 2011 3:21 PM CST Updated: Jan 05, 2011 5:27 AM CST
MONROE, NC (WBTV) – An internet tipster has offered 3 additional locations for Baltimore Police to search for Phylicia Barnes, the 16 year old girl from Monroe who went missing in Baltimore last week.

The tipster left a new comment Tuesday afternoon on the Baltimore Sun web article covering the search for Barnes saying, "The only reason I said to look in the 4000 block of Franklintown Road is because if someone disappears on the westside, that is ground zero of where they're going to be found."

The 4000 block of Franklintown Road in Baltimore is part of Leakin Park, where dozens of police cadets, homicide detectives and FBI agents searched for hours Tuesday after an initial comment on the Sun page said to look there.

Police suspended the search at dusk Tuesday night after finding no sign of Barnes, 16.

The new comment on the Sun article, left by 'Cham101,' went on to name locations on Winterbourne Road, Wetheredsville Road, and a bridge near Franklintown Road in Baltimore for police to search because, "these are easy drop points for bodies and many many bodies have been found at these sites."

During a news conference early Tuesday afternoon, Baltimore Police Spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said the reason investigators chose to follow the first tip to Leakin Park is because the department is taking every tip as credible.

Detectives believe Barnes, who was reported missing on Dec. 28, may have been abducted.  Earlier this week, detectives said they thought Barnes' kidnappers might have taken her out of state.  Click to read related story.

Guglielmi told WBTV.com Tuesday night, detectives have located and interviewed the 27 year old ex-boyfriend of Barnes' half-sister. Guglielmi said the man is, "not considered at suspect or person of interest at this moment."

During a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Guglielmi said Baltimore Police Commissioner Fred Bealefeld FBI has now been called in to assist with the investigation.

Guglielmi said police were also investigating Leakin Park after receiving a tip via the Baltimore Sun newspaper.

Several officers assisted with the search including an entire academy class, cadaver K-9 dogs, search and seizure dogs, the Department of Natural Resources police, a helicopter and a dive team, Guglielmi said.

Guglielmi said the police department still has not had any contact with Barnes, and that there has been no indication that she has called her family back in North Carolina.

Police say, so far, seven search warrants have been executed in the investigation.  However, police say that nothing of significance to the case has been found in any of the search and seizure warrants.

Guglielmi said the homicide unit is "double-crossing the T's and dotting the I's" in this investigation.

"We're going over every shred of evidence that we already have, we're re-interviewing everybody we've interviewed, just to make sure we didn't miss anything," Guglielmi said.  "Now, with the help of the FBI, we're going to get some first-class technical assistance, as far as talking to the people who have last seen Phylicia, also looking at her Facebook account and going through the computer part of this with a fine-tooth comb."

Police say one warrant was for the residence which belongs to Barnes' stepsister.

Police said Barnes' half-sister has been extremely cooperative and that detectives have an extremely lengthy list of individuals who were in the apartment.  All of those individuals have been interviewed by homicide detectives.

"Detectives have been working around the clock, literally around the clock on this case, 20 detectives and they are [working on] shifts," Guglielmi said. "This is extremely high profile for us.  Every hour that passes, we get more and more concerned, and the police commissioner has authorized whatever resources necessary to find Ms. Barnes."

He said the police department is pleading for the media to publicize Phylicia's picture on every television screen across the Baltimore region in the event that this was an abduction.

Guglielmi said it was a special request by the police commissioner that the FBI be called into assist.

"They've been incredibly grateful to do that," he said.  "We're hoping they will help us get to a close here. And, I just want to be clear, there's been no communication from Ms. Barnes since she went missing on the afternoon of the 28th. And, it is very unlike her not to update her Facebook page, not to even turn on her cell phone to not try to access money to pay for things."

Barnes mother is devastated.  She returned to her home in Monroe from Baltimore Monday night.  She is greatly concerned.

"I wish I would be in her place," Barnes' mother Janice Sallis said.  "And she can be in my place."

As of Tuesday, police said they have no people of interest and no suspects in the case at this time.

"There's no reason for us to believe, besides the length of time that has elapsed, that anything terrible, meaning death, has happened to Ms. Barnes," Guglielmi said.  "We have no evidence of that as of yet. We're just going on the suspicious circumstances around the time frame."

Police say they are planning to re-interview everyone they have spoken to already, to make sure each story, each fact, each timeline, is consistent.

"We're going to run out every single lead that we get, whether it's through the media or we get it through the department directly, we're going to do everything we can to try to find Ms. Barnes," Guglielmi said.

At this point, the Baltimore Police Department says any tip they get that is credible will be checked out, and they urge anybody with information to contact the police department.

But the mother wants people who are calling in tips to have good information. She says she has been chasing bad leads while in Baltimore.

"This is very important," Sallis said.  "We need pertinent factual information. Nothing made up."

http://www.wbaltv.com/r/26372206/detail.html
Police Scour Leakin Park For Missing NC Teen
Phylicia Barnes, 16, Missing Since Last Tuesday In NW Baltimore
January 5, 2010

BALTIMORE -- Police spent hours searching a park in Baltimore on Tuesday in hopes of finding answers to the disappearance of 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes.

Officials said a comment about the search for Barnes, which was left on the Baltimore Sun website, propelled more than 100 investigators to scour the Leakin Park for nearly eight hours, but turned up nothing.

Public information officer Anthony Guglielmi said the tip, which said, "Humor me, somebody pop over to the 4000 block of Franklintown Road and look at the southward shoulder," was too specific that it left them no choice but to investigate.

Police later learned that the person who made the comment intended to make a suggestion based on the history of the area, Guglielmi said.

"Detectives have been working around the clock, literally around the clock on this case. (We have) 20 detectives in shifts. This is extremely high priority for us. Every hours that passes, we get more and more concerned," Guglielmi said.

Barnes, who was visiting from North Carolina, was last seen at about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Reisterstown Square apartments in northwest Baltimore.

"It's very unlike her to not update her Facebook page, to not even turn on her cell phone, to not try to access money to pay for things. This is not the case of a runaway, and again as we said yesterday, we do suspect some kind of foul play," Guglielmi said.

The police official said the Federal Bureau of Investigation has joined in the search.

"We are going over every single shred of evidence that we've already had. We are re-interviewing everybody who we've already interviewed, just to make sure that we didn't miss anything," Guglielmi said.

what a nightmare for this family.. How old are these sisters who Phylicia was staying with? 

I don't know, but imo....this case won't turn out well.

I agree Nut..hope that we are both wrong..

From what was said last night on Nancy Grace Show, it seems that the apartment was visited by many college students, so I would think they were about that age.

I think they said the one was 26. I don't know about the other one.

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/blog/2011/01/missing_girls_mother_angry_wit.html
Missing girl's mother angry with sibling over men in apartment
January 5, 2011

The mother of 16-year-old Phylicia Simone Barnes, who has been missing since Dec. 28, told a North Carolina newspaper that the Northwest Baltimore apartment her daughter was staying at had been visited by at least 20 men over Christmas.

(snip)

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2011/01/06/search-intensifies-for-phylicia-barnes/

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Day nine and there’s still no word from a 16-year-old high school student who vanished while visiting relatives in Northwest Baltimore.

The search is growing more intense.
snip

http://abcnews.go.com/News/search-continues-honor-student-missing-11-days/story?id=12565597
Search Continues for Phylicia Barnes, Missing for 10 Days After Trip to Baltimore
Police Suspect Foul Play in Disappearance of Teen Amid Concerns of Racial Double-Standard in Media Attention

snip

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/07/police-national-media-needed-in-search-for-missing-north-caroli/

Police: National Media Needed in Search for Teen
Jan 7, 2011 – 1:38 PM

snip

I hope we are all wrong.

 ::MonkeyAngel:: ::MonkeyAngel::

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/07/police-national-media-needed-in-search-for-missing-north-caroli/?icid=main%7Chtmlws-main-w%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk3%7C194167&a_dgi=aolshare_twitter

Police: National Media Needed in Search for Teen

Authorities in Maryland are stepping up efforts to locate Phylicia Barnes, a 16-year-old North Carolina girl who disappeared while visiting relatives in Baltimore. But a local police official said the national media need to take note of the case.

"We are doing everything we can," Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told AOL News, noting that more than 35 detectives are working on the case, as well as two teams from the FBI.

 
Baltimore Police Department
Phylicia Barnes, a 16-year-old North Carolina girl who disappeared while visiting relatives in Baltimore, may have met with foul play, police say."We would really like the national outlets to help us out here, so if somebody sees her in Missouri, they are able to alert authorities quickly," Guglielmi continued. "It has been incredibly frustrating for me. We've been pitching this since the 29th [and] have not gotten any traction. This case is no different than the Natalee Holloway case. The only difference is Phylicia is from North Carolina, she went missing in Baltimore and she is African-American."Guglielmi added, "I just think if we could get America just to see her picture -- that is all we are asking -- maybe that will lead detectives to a break and save this young lady's life."

Phylicia lives in Monroe, N.C., but was visiting relatives in Baltimore. She was last seen around 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 28, when she left the apartment of her 27-year-old half-sister, Deena Barnes. According to relatives, Phylicia told her sister she was going shopping.

What happened to the teenager next remains a mystery, police said.

"Time is working against us," Guglielmi said. "She has been missing 10 days. ... This is not a runaway. We suspect some type of foul play. The question is, What kind of foul play?"

Investigators are preparing to examine video footage and process additional search warrants in the case, police said.

"We got some new footage [from] an apartment complex in the area, so we are reviewing that," Guglielmi said. "We are continuing interrogations, [and] we have a couple more search warrants and things to process."

Family members have described Phylicia as a straight-A student who was to graduate early from Union Academy in Monroe and planned to go to Towson University in Maryland. Her father, Russell Barnes, has said it is out of character for her to take off without notifying someone.

There has been no activity on any of Phylicia's social-networking accounts, and police say her cell phone has been turned off since the day of her disappearance.

Authorities are looking at two possible scenarios in the case, Guglielmi said. The first is that someone in the Baltimore area did "something terrible to her." The second is that she was abducted and taken elsewhere, he said.

Anyone who had contact with Phylicia in the hours leading up to her disappearance is considered a person of interest, police said. According to Guglielmi, Phylicia's half-sister's lifestyle makes the potential suspect pool large and difficult to narrow down.

"[Phylicia's] sister is college-age, and she had a lot of friends coming in and out," he said. "I would describe it probably like a dorm room setting. They party, maybe do a little drinking, [but] there is no activity there that concerned us -- no illicit drug use or sex parties or anything ridiculous. She was just a young lady with a lot of friends, [and] that makes our job difficult."

Authorities have conducted interviews with all of the individuals whom they know were present at the apartment on the day Phylicia went missing. They are now interviewing those individuals again to see if their stories are consistent, police said.

Investigators have also served a search warrant at the half-sister's apartment. Items of interest have since been sent to the FBI lab in Quantico, Va.

"We have taken out pieces of bedding and pieces of flooring, but we haven't gotten any smoking gun in terms of the case," Guglielmi said. "A couple more evidentiary things have to be processed, but it is a bit frustrating for detectives because usually you are guided by some kind of physical evidence, and in this case, so far we haven't been able to find anything."

The FBI's Baltimore branch confirmed to AOL News that it is assisting in the investigation.

"We have a unit here in Baltimore called the Crimes Against Children Unit, which is assisting the Baltimore police homicide unit in trying to locate Ms. Barnes," Special Agent Rich Wolf said.

Wolf declined to comment on any specifics about the case and directed questions back to the police department.

In the past week, authorities have conducted multiple searches for Phylicia in and around the area of the apartment complex where she was last seen, but so far nothing of interest has been found. Authorities are now hoping that billboards donated by Clear Channel Communications might help bring some new leads in the case. The billboards, which display Phylicia's photo and vital information, are being put up along Interstate 95 from Baltimore to New York City, police said.

Authorities have set up a special tip line. Anyone with information on Phylicia's disappearance should call 855-223-0033. The FBI has also posted her vital information and photo on its website.

Posted too soon . BBM above. I know this is on every missing person internet site. Didn't Nancy Grace or Jane have her Mother on their show? I thought they did, but maybe I am wrong.

ABC 2 news video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxpSmZVXNQ4

So sad, I hope they find her alive.

I wonder if they tried tracking dogs.  If the apartment complex in this video is where she went missing from, looks like a huge place.  I'm thinking maybe someone was watching and waiting for her to leave the apartment alone. 

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/01/07/1963554/police-focus-on-2-possibilities.html

Police focus on 2 areas in Monroe teen case


By NewsChannel 36 Staff
WCNC.com
Posted: Friday, Jan. 07, 2011

The father of a Monroe teenager who disappeared in Baltimore is organizing a Saturday search for his daughter as police focus on two possibilities in connection with the case.

Phylicia Barnes reported missing on Dec. 28 while visiting her half-sister in Baltimore.

On Friday, police said they are investigating the possibilities that either someone has done something to her or she was taken outside of the area.

The 16-year-old has not used her cell phone, logged onto Facebook or accessed her bank account since she disappeared.

The case is now gathering national attention, which police hope will help their search.

Billboards broadcasting a picture of Phylicia can be seen from Baltimore up to New York, and there’s a tip line designated for the case, 855-223-0033.

Janice Sallis, Phylicia’s mother, spoke with NewsChannel 36 on Wednesday. She said she last spoke with her daughter on Christmas day.

"I said next year you all aren't going anywhere because I'm here all alone,” Sallis said. “She smiled and laughed and said, 'Mommy, I miss you too.'"



Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/01/07/1963554/police-focus-on-2-possibilities.html#ixzz1ASVDg5l6

Bolded by me)

Yes, they've used dogs trained in different ways, including cadaver dogs, search and seizure dogs and they've used them in different locations, including the apt. and a park that I can find noted in articles.
'
http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13760032
(snip)
Police say there have been no sightings of the teen.  They admit they desperately need help from the community.

"We are getting a little concerned here," Baltimore Police Officer Anthony Guglielmi said.  "That it's now approaching three days. We have contacted the Maryland State Police blood hounds Unit.  We have also notified the Baltimore police homicide section." (snip)

http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=154094&catid=57
(snip)
Police brought search dogs to the apartment complex where the teen was last seen. but relatives say the dogs lost Phylicia Barnes' scent in the parking lot.  (snip)

http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13782424
(snip)
Guglielmi said police were also investigating Leakin Park after receiving a tip via the Baltimore Sun newspaper.

Several officers assisted with the search including an entire academy class, cadaver K-9 dogs, search and seizure dogs, the Department of Natural Resources police, a helicopter and a dive team, Guglielmi said. (snip)

Thanks MuffyBee!   ::MonkeyAngel::

If the link works, you should be able to see the area where Phylicia went missing from.

If she was going to that mall, there's a HUGE parking area she would have had to cross to get there.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=6520+Eberle+Dr.+Baltimore+Maryland&layer=c&z=17&iwloc=A&sll=39.353740,-76.706625&cbp=13,159.6,0,0,0&cbll=39.353764,-76.706637&hl=en&ved=0CA0Q2wU&sa=X&ei=h4woTe6FKJDuyAXiyPH7DA

The link works and I see what you mean about the HUGE parking area Phylicia would have had to cross if she was going to the mall.  Thanks for posting the link, Texasmom.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/search-phylicia-barnes-continues-honor-student-missing-trip/story?id=12571023
Video
Search Continues for Phylicia Barnes, Missing for 10 Days After Trip to Baltimore
Police Suspect Foul Play in Disappearance of Teen Amid Concerns of Racial Double-Standard in Media Attention
January 8, 2011

The search continues for Phylicia Simone Barnes, a star high school student from North Carolina who went missing in Baltimore last week. The 16-year-old honor student from Monroe, N.C., was visiting her half-sister when she disappeared three days after Christmas.


Phylicia was last heard from Dec.28 via Facebook when she posted a note saying she was at her sister's apartment with her sister's boyfriend. The 5 foot 8 inch straight-A, African-America student has been missing ever since. (snip)

(snip)
The FBI and Baltimore police are conducting the investigation. Baltimore Metro Crime Stoppers has offered a cash reward of up to $2,000 for her discovery.

Police told ABC News today that they obtained additional security video from the area surrounding the apartment, but it has yet to shed new light on the case. FBI helicopters have scoured the area for three days without finding any clues.

"If there's any good news, we haven't found anything yet," Baltimore Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.

"We've thrown every single tool, trick, machine, widget that we have in our law enforcement toolbox. And ten days later we still have nothing."

Police say several people who visited the apartment are considered persons of interest, and the two likely scenarios proposed by investigators are abduction or murder.
(snip)
Nearly 9,000 people have joined a Facebook page called, "Pray for Phylicia Barnes." The charter school Phylicia attends in North Carolina, Union Academy, held a vigil for the promising student.(snip)

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-missing-girl-father-20110108,0,2736197.story?track=rss
Volunteers conduct ground search for missing teen
Police say still no solid leads; reward for information about Phylicia Barnes increased to $4,000
January 8, 2011

(http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2011-01/58670335.jpg)
Russell Barnes (left), father of missing teenager Phylicia Simone Barnes, thanks Ben Thomas of Monroe, N.C., for coming to help search for his daughter. Thomas lives in the same town where Phylicia lives and his daughter goes to school with Barnes. Relatives and volunteers are searching for clues that will help them locate the 16-year-old girl who has been missing since Dec. 28. (Kim Hairston, Baltimore Sun / January 8, 2011)

Volunteers trekked through a patch of thick pine trees and along railroad tracks in Northwest Baltimore on Saturday as a light snow fell, searching for any clues in the disappearance of missing teenager Phylicia Simone Barnes.

On Saturday morning — 11 days after she went missing — the family and friends of 16-year-old Barnes, along with concerned strangers, searched the grounds surrounding the apartment complex where the honor roll student from North Carolina was last seen. Police say they suspect foul play and the teen was likely abducted, but family members vowed Saturday to find her.

Russell Barnes, her father, organized the search that drew about 30 volunteers, including the activist group Guardian Angels in their signature red berets and jackets. Barnes, who lives in Atlanta, came to Baltimore soon after hearing of his daughter's disappearance. Between calls on his cell phone from various church and community leaders offering help, he said he was resolute in his hope that his daughter, who lives with her mother in Monroe, N.C., and was visiting Baltimore for the holidays at the time of her disappearance, would return home alive.

"We don't believe she's gone," her father said, adding that a reward for information about the missing girl has been increased to $4,000. "I'll never believe she's gone. She's here. I'm never going to stop looking."
The teenager was last seen at her older sister's apartment in the 6500 block of Eberle Drive, near the Reisterstown Road Metro station and within sight of a large shopping center. Police believe she left the apartment about 1:30 p.m. Dec. 28 in search of food. She hasn't been heard from since, her cell phone is off, she hasn't used her debit card and she hasn't updated her Facebook page.

Ben Thomas, whose young daughter attends the same charter school as Barnes, drove some seven hours from his home in North Carolina last Thursday night to help search for the missing teen. He's been staying a friend's house, and he joined Saturday's search. At Phylicia Barnes' school, where his daughter is a seventh-grader, Thomas said everyone has been wearing purple — Barnes' favorite color — to express hope that she'll be found safe. The school's wrestling team wore purple socks at a recent match, he said.

"I just couldn't look in her eyes and say everything was being done if I didn't do something," Thomas said of his daughter. "If she were gone, I'd want everyone outside of their comfort zone."

Jessica Paylor, a student at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, said she took the subway from her Baltimore home to come search for Phylicia.

"She's a young girl like me," said Paylor, 20, holding an umbrella to shield herself from the falling snow. "If this happened to me, I'd want people to come and search. I've been praying for her daily."

In a brief interview, Phylicia Barnes' elder half-sister, Deena Barnes, 27, said her sister was sleeping when she left her apartment at 8:45 a.m Dec. 28. She said they spoke on the phone and texted several times that morning and through the afternoon, mostly about setting up a hair appointment for the teen. She said allegations made by Phylicia Barnes' mother, Janice Sallis, that large groups of men often congregated in her apartment are "untrue."

Sallis, appearing Saturday morning on the national news program "The Today Show," said she allowed her daughter to visit Baltimore to connect with distant family members and had let her stay with Deena Barnes after being assured her daughter would be safe and looked after. Sallis said she learned after her daughter went missing that the apartment was often frequented by men. Sallis said she "felt totally deceived" and would not have allowed her daughter to visit Baltimore.

Baltimore police have invested unprecedented resources into the search, putting about 25 homicide detectives, as well as missing-persons investigators and patrol officers, on the case. Police have been searching Leakin Park and handing out hundreds of fliers, and have set up a 24-hour hot line for tips. The FBI has assisted with helicopter searches and has provided technical and computer expertise.

Police say the teen, who is a track star and an honors student who earned straight A's, was likely abducted and may have been taken far from Baltimore.

Authorities also say it's highly unlikely that the teen ran away because she has no history of crime or drug use, doesn't suffer from emotional problems and has no family troubles. Phylicia was on track to graduate early from high school and wanted to move to Baltimore and attend Towson University.

Anthony Guglielmi, a city police spokesman, said Saturday that police haven't received any promising leads, but officers are continuing to "scour the entire city" for any sign of the teen.

"We're now approaching 11 days without a confirmed sighting, no cell phone signal, not trying to access ATMs … it's incredibly concerning. You can't help but to start to fear for the worst. But that doesn't mean we're going to stop looking anytime soon."

A prayer service Phylicia Barnes is planned for 6 p.m. Sunday at Brown's Memorial Baptist Church, 3215 W. Belvedere Ave.

snipped from above article:
"[Phylicia's] sister is college-age, and she had a lot of friends coming in and out," he said. "I would describe it probably like a dorm room setting. They party, maybe do a little drinking, [but] there is no activity there that concerned us -- no illicit drug use or sex parties or anything ridiculous. She was just a young lady with a lot of friends, [and] that makes our job difficult."

BBM

http://www.wbaltv.com/r/26415292/detail.html
Video
'Today' Brings Phylicia's Disappearance To National Attention
16-Year-Old NC Girl Missing From Baltimore
January 8, 2011

BALTIMORE -- The case of a teenager who disappeared in Baltimore in December gained national attention Saturday morning on "The Today Show" on NBC.

Police have said they suspect foul play in the disappearance of Phylicia Barnes, who was last seen Dec. 28, and have set up a hotline for anyone who might have information about the case. That number is 855-223-0033.

"We're at square one, to be frank ... We don't have any leads."
- Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi
Baltimore City police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi and Phylicia's mother, Janice Sallis, appeared on "Today" Saturday morning.

"We're at square one, to be frank," Guglielmi told NBC. "We've thrown every single law enforcement and technical resource at this case to reunite Phylicia with her family. We don't have any leads."

Guglielmi described the apartment building from which Phylicia disappeared as similar to that of a college dorm. Sallis said she would not have let her 16-year-old daughter visit her half-sister in Maryland had she known how she lived.

"I felt deceived," said Sallis of Phylicia's half-sister. "She had visited approximately four times, and each time she visited, I spoke with her half-sister and drilled her to make sure (she knew) the lifestyle that was not allowed, and that encouraged me a lot when I allowed her to go up there, and that was the type of influence I wanted her to have."

Phylicia is an honors student who was on track to graduate from her North Carolina high school.

"I encouraged her to find the Barnes side of her family two years ago because I didn't want her to be like so many people, wondering what her other half was like. I wanted her to be balanced," Sallis told NBC.
The FBI and the Center for Missing and Exploited Children are also involved in the ongoing search.

http://radioamber.net/?p=3915
Missing Endangered Alert for Baltimore – Phylicia Simone Barnes
January 9, 2011
Your help is needed, let’s find this child.
Phylicia Simone Barnes,a straight A student, has been missing since around 2:30 p.m. December 28th 2010. She is from Monroe, N.C. and was visiting her half sister in Baltimore when she disappeared. She’s described as a 16 year old black female, 5 foot 8 inches tall and weighing 120 lbs. It is believed she was last seen wearing, a blue pea coat with a hood, a turquoise thermal shirt, blue jeans, white ankle-high boots, and carrying a tan purse. Phylicia has a tattoo of a rose on her lower right leg.

The last known sighting of her was at her older sister’s apartment in the 6500 block of Eberle Drive, near the Reisterstown Road Metro station.

Both the FBI and the Baltimore police are involved in the investigation. Baltimore Metro Crime Stoppers has offered a cash reward of up to $4,000 for information leading to her recovery.
altimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi has said “We would really like the national outlets to help us out here, so if somebody sees her in Missouri, they are able to alert authorities quickly. It has been incredibly frustrating for me. We’ve been pitching this since the 29th and have not gotten any traction. This case is no different from the Natalee Holloway case. The only difference is Phylicia is from North Carolina, she went missing in Baltimore and she is African-American. “I just think if we could get America just to see her picture, that is all we are asking, maybe that will lead detectives to a break and save this young lady’s life.”

Police have said they suspect foul play in the disappearance of Phylicia Barnes.

If you have any information about this alert please contact the Information Hotline: 855-223-0033, or the Baltimore City Police Department (Maryland) 1-410-396-2525 or Baltimore’s Missing Persons Unit at 443-984-7385.

http://www.wbaltv.com/r/26417113/detail.html
Video
Guardian Angels Join Search For Missing Teen
Phylicia Barnes Disappeared From Baltimore
January 9, 2011

BALTIMORE -- Friends, volunteers and members of the Guardian Angels joined family members to search the apartment complex where a 16-year-old North Carolina girl was last seen before disappearing 12 days ago.

The Guardian Angels vowed to keep searching for Phylicia Barnes until she was found.

"Every time you come out, you run into different people, you see different things. Until Phylicia Barnes comes home, we're going to be out here continuing to look for something someone may have missed," said Guardian Angel Paul Rufe.

Barnes, who turns 17 Wednesday, was visiting relatives during the holidays when she disappeared.

Barnes' picture has been posted on Interstate 95 billboards and her story was featured on the NBC Today Show.

The FBI and the Center for Missing and Exploited Children are also involved in the ongoing search.

I don't know how to quote two different posts - maybe someone who does could back this up for me...

This is just something that is puzzling me - the home-made poster type thingy says she was wearing white slippers/boots and another posting does say white ankle boots - I really wish they knew for sure because there is a big difference in slippers and boots! She would not go to the mall/shopping in slippers - if she really was wearing slippers her step-sister is making up the part about where she was going - you don't go shopping in slippers!!

Well, some just might go shopping in "slippers" which in my day and time we also called house slippers or house shoes.  My son's high school had to write into the dress code disallowing wearing "slippers" and pajamas and even hair rollers to school.  I think they are/were a fashion item in some schools and colleges to wear to classes.   That said, "slippers" could also possibly mean some sort of slip on open toed, backless shoe some used to wear after soccer games and sports.  They can be worn with or without socks.  Just ramblings and thoughts here.  

I don't know why the difference in description of the boots/slippers though.  No matter if they were bedroom slippers, soccer slippers or whatever, that's a big difference from an ankle boot.  I don't know if they're just not sure what she had on, or if perhaps one or the other footwear was found in her closet and so the description changed, I just don't know.

moccasins?

 :2thinky:  interesting...

I'm thinking she may have been wearing ankle high UGG type booties. Some of the styles look alot like slippers.

http://www.uggaustralia.com/ProductsList.aspx?gID=w&categoryID=283

I have also seen slippers that are advertised to be able to go outside. I bought my husband a pair, because he mostly wears them in the house, but occasionally goes to the garage to get something in them.

http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13811738
Police fear worst in Barnes case
January 9, 2011
CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Baltimore police say they are fearing the worst in the disappearance of Phylicia Barnes.

A spokesperson for the department says they have not had a single "pop up" or confirmed sighting since the teenager disappeared 12 days ago. Barnes, a senior at Union Academy in Monroe, vanished on December 28 while visiting relatives in Baltimore for Christmas.

Police say Barnes told relatives she was leaving the apartment to grab something to eat. She hasn't been seen since. Police said, there has been no activity on her Facebook page, her cell phone has been silent and there's been no activity in the teen's bank account.

Police have distributed 4,000 fliers of the missing girl. The department is using 4 of it's own helicopters in addition to 2 FBI choppers that have heat-sensory capabilities. The Maryland State Police have also offered assistance, officials said.

Ten Billboards along I-95 from Maryland to New York are digitally displaying Barnes's picture and a hotline number for people to call with tips and information on the teen's disappearance.

this is just terrible..
someone knows something about what happened to this girl!

http://radioamber.net/?p=3971


Phylicia Barnes Remains Missing

Jan 10th, 2011 | By Paul P | Category: Alert Follow Up News

(http://radioamber.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Phylicia_Barnes1-150x150.jpg)
Phylicia Barnes

Baltimore, MD. As time passes police are reported to fear the worse in the case of 16 year old Phylicia Simone Barnes. They have not had a single confirmed sighting since the teenager disappeared. Phylicia was last heard from on December 28th 2010 via her Facebook account. She posted a note saying she was at her sister’s apartment with her sister’s boyfriend.
A lack of media attention in the case has caused some to criticize the national news networks citing racial double standards because Phylicia is black. Baltimore officials have voiced their concern on the subject.

Teenagers are often taken across state lines rendering local media coverage much less useful. No Amber Alert was issued in the case which may have attributed to the lack of attention. There is an entry on the National Missing and Exploited Children website who are also the designated clearing house for Amber Alerts. People remain hopeful that Phylicia will be found safe and returned to her family.

Authorities are utilizing helicopters including 2 from the FBI as well as digital billboards along interstate 95 in the search. With no tips coming in the search may not have a direction left to go in.

Authorities said rumors of her body being found were untrue.

If you have any information whatsoever about Phylicia Barne’s disappearance please contact the Information Hotline at 855-223-0033.
Radio Amber Alert Video – Phylicia Barnes

Radio Amber Alert Video – Phylicia Barnes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbMub_9jXCM

http://www.examiner.com/crime-in-national/phylicia-barnes-update-prayer-vigil-held-for-missing-nc-teen-video
Video
Phylicia Barnes update: Prayer vigil held for missing NC teen (video)
January 10, 2011

On Sunday, a prayer vigil was held for missing North Carolina teen Phylicia Barnes, who vanished almost two weeks ago, while on a visit to Baltimore.

Phylicia, 16, who lives in Charlotte, was in Maryland visiting her college-age half-sister when she vanished on December 28. She had gone out to get a bite to eat and possibly to get her hair cut, according to law enforcement.

Her father, Russell Barnes, gathered with hundreds on Sunday at Brown’s Baptist to pray for his missing daughter’s return.

“I’m not ever gonna stop until I find my child,” he said. “This is the work of the devil, so we know we want the devil to release our child and bring her back to our family, and when I say our family I mean everyone, all the community.”

WJZ reports there are new leads in the case, however, investigators are not commenting on the evidence garnered. On Sunday, Patapsco State Park near Catonsville was thoroughly scoured for any sign of Phylicia.

“Through the investigative process, information has been developed, and Maryland Natural Resources Police are conducting this search at the request of the Baltimore Police Department,” said Sgt. Arthur Windemuth.

Rev. R. Lee Johnson said “The faith community is using the greatest weapon we have, and that’s the power of prayer.”

Over the weekend, citizen patrol group the Guardian Angels joined in the search for the missing teen.

Phylicia will be 17-years-old on Wednesday.

Phylicia is described as a black female, 5-foot-8 and 120 pounds. Anyone with information regarding her disappearance is urged to call 855-223-0033.

Insert Quote
http://www.examiner.com/crime-in-national/phylicia-barnes-update-prayer-vigil-held-for-missing-nc-teen-video
 ::monkeyscissors::
Rev. R. Lee Johnson said “The faith community is using the greatest weapon we have, and that’s the power of prayer.”

I totally agree.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20028153-504083.html
Phylicia Barnes Missing: Police Investigate Search Maryland Park for Missing Teen
January 11, 2011

BALTIMORE (CBS/WJZ/AP) It's been almost two weeks since anyone has seen missing teenager Phylicia Barnes, the North Carolina girl who disappeared while visiting relatives in Baltimore.
Now police are now focusing their search on Patapsco State Park, west of Baltimore, reports CBS affiliate WJZ.

"Through the investigative process, information has been developed, and Maryland Natural Resources Police are conducting this search at the request of the Baltimore Police Department," said Sgt. Arthur Windemuth.

More than 100 detectives, including half of the Baltimore police department's homicide unit, as well as Maryland State Police and the FBI have been assigned to Barnes' case, reports The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The honor roll student from Monroe, N.C., about 25 miles southeast of Charlotte, was last seen Dec. 28 at her half-sister's apartment in Northwest Baltimore.

Detectives involved in the investigation fear foul play and say there is reason believe the teen may have been abducted in part because of items that she left behind at the apartment, including money.

Police have established a tip line for information on Phylicia Barnes' whereabouts. If you know anything, you can call 855-223-0033.

I pray she is found . . . God bless this family.

amen to that Sister!

http://radioamber.net/?p=3992
Sanity Gurlz Vie To Get Media Attention for Phylicia Barnes
January 11, 2011

A well known group, Sanity Gurlz, an all female promotional company on the east coast, is striving to get national media attention in the case of missing Phylicia Barnes. She has been missing for 2 weeks. She is from Monroe, N.C. and was visiting her half sister in Baltimore when she disappeared.

Phylicia is a 16 year old black female, 5 foot 8 inches tall and weighs 120 lbs. It is believed she was last seen wearing, a blue pea coat with a hood, a turquoise thermal shirt, blue jeans, white ankle-high boots, and carrying a tan purse. Phylicia has a tattoo of a rose on her lower right leg.

Police are frustrated saying there are no suspects, no motive and few leads to follow. Reportedly Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told AOL News “It is almost like she completely vanished, we have nothing tangible in terms of leads.

Utilizing twitter the Sanity Gurlz posted “I’m blowing up time lines to get the attention needed to find Phylicia Barnes missing in Baltimore help us make media attention for her” and “Spread the world about Phylicia Barnes missing in Baltimore and isn’t getting no national media attention we need to change tht now RETWEET”.

They have vowed to do non-stop tweets to drive attention to this missing girl.

On their website sanitygurlz.webs.com they give their mission statement.

Sanity Gurlz are Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. We are committed to empowering victims and eliminating violence by providing education and prevention information, supporting member programs, and expanding quality services to all persons affected by sexual and domestic violence and stalking.

Dissent has been growing due to the lack of media coverage on the Barnes case. Officials in Baltimore have voiced their disdain and questioned if there is a double standard because Phylicia is black.

Nancy Grace covered Phylicia's case tonight. Her mother was on. I feel very sorry for her. There was really nothing new. I hope Phylicia  is found soon.

Very, very sad.   ::MonkeyNoNo::

http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/Missing-Monroe-teen-turns-17-today-search-continues--113386179.html
Missing Monroe teen turns 17 today, search continues
January 12, 2011


CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Phylicia Barnes’ family should be celebrating the teen’s birthday today, but instead they’re continuing the search for the missing teenager.

January 12, 2011 marks the Monroe teenager’s 17th birthday. Barnes was last seen on Dec. 28, 2010 in Baltimore.

She was visiting her28-year-old half-sister, Deena Barnes. Police say the items Phylicia left at Deena’s apartment make them suspect foul play.

Last week Phylicia’s mother, Janice Sallis, said she was concerned and angered when she found out that Deena allowed the teen to drink alcohol, and smoke drugs.

"She promised me she would take care of her," says Sallis.

Barnes is a straight-A student who's on track to graduate early from a charter school and is already applying to colleges.

If you know anything about the case call investigators ask you to call 855-223-0033.
 

I saw a piece on Fox News today. Phylicia's mother was being interviewed. It was said there were one hundred police officers looking for her today. At least it seems now  she is getting more national coverage. Sorry, I don't have a link.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/01/13/1977248/missing-teen-turns-17-police-stymied.html
Missing teen turns 17; police stymied
January 13, 2011

Baltimore police marked the 17th birthday of a missing Monroe teen on Wednesday by searching a dumpster at the apartment complex where the girl's stepsister lives.

The effort turned up nothing, police say, and they expressed frustration over the lack of progress in the case.

Phylicia Barnes, a senior at Union Academy, has not been seen since leaving her stepsister Deena Barnes' apartment on Eberle Street in northwest Baltimore about 1:30 p.m. Dec. 28. Phylicia had been spending the Christmas holidays with her stepsister and said she was going out to shop.

Police say she has not used her cell phone or bank card, and has not posted an update on her Facebook page since that afternoon.

"We are pretty much at Square 1," police spokesman Anthony Gugliemi said in a news conference Wednesday. "We have no physical evidence to help us find Miss Barnes."

Gugliemi said more than 100 law enforcement personnel have been involved in the search, including local, state and federal police and agents. Investigators have used search dogs, helicopters and dive teams to search parks and ponds, and they have distributed thousands of flyers to people in the Baltimore metro area.

A national radio station company, Clear Channel Broadcasting, has donated space on billboards along Interstate 95 in the Baltimore-to-New York corridor. Those billboards contain Phylicia Barnes' photo and the nationwide telephone tip line.

Nothing has turned up.

"What will put us over the top is information from the public," Gugliemi said. "Somebody out there knows something."

The effort to find Barnes has included several searches at Deena Barnes' apartment complex. Janice Sallis, Phylicia's mother, said Deena Barnes told her a number of men had visited the apartment over the Christmas holidays. Police investigators have described the apartment as a stopover point for friends.

When asked if the search was getting close to becoming a "cold case," Gugliemi answered, "We are starting to fear the worst.

"But we are not giving up."

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/01/14/1978799/missing-girl-turns-17-bin-yields.html
Missing girl turns 17; bin yields no clues
Phylicia Barnes of Monroe disappeared Dec. 28 in Baltimore; search expanding.
January 14, 2011

Baltimore police marked the 17th birthday of a missing Monroe girl on Wednesday by searching a trash bin at the Baltimore apartment complex where her stepsister lives.

The effort turned up nothing, police say, and they expressed frustration over the lack of progress in the case.
(snipped)
"We are pretty much at square one," police spokesman Anthony Gugliemi said in a news conference. "We have no physical evidence to help us find Miss Barnes."

Gugliemi said more than 100 law enforcement personnel have been involved in the search, including local, state and federal police and agents. Investigators have used search dogs, helicopters and dive teams to search parks and ponds, and they have distributed thousands of fliers to people in the Baltimore metro area.

A national radio station company, Clear Channel Broadcasting, has donated space on billboards along Interstate 95 in the Baltimore-to-New York corridor. Those billboards contain Phylicia Barnes' photo and the nationwide telephone tip line.

"What will put us over the top is information from the public," Gugliemi said. "Somebody out there knows something."

The effort to find Barnes has included several searches at Deena Barnes' apartment complex. Janice Sallis, Phylicia's mother, said Deena Barnes told her a number of men had visited the apartment over the Christmas holidays. Police investigators have described the apartment as a stopover point for friends.

When asked if the search was getting close to becoming a "cold case," Gugliemi answered, "We are starting to fear the worst."
Anyone who has information on the case is asked to call 855-223-0033.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-missing-teen-help-20110114,0,3040989.story?track=rss
Cummings, N.C. congressman seek help in teen's disappearance
January 14, 2011

Two congressmen are asking the public to help solve the disappearance of a North Carolina teenager who went missing while visiting relatives in Baltimore over the holidays.

Phylicia Barnes of Monroe, N.C., was last seen on Dec. 28 at her half-sister's apartment. Her 17th birthday was Wednesday.

Congressmen Elijah Cummings of Maryland and Larry Kissell of North Carolina issued a joint statement Friday asking the public to contact Baltimore police immediately with any information about Barnes' whereabouts. They say their thoughts and prayers are with Barnes' family.
Barnes is an honor student at a charter school and was on track to graduate a year early.

She was last seen leaving the apartment about 1:30 p.m. Dec. 28, apparently in search of food.

She hasn't been seen or heard from since. Her cell phone is off, she hasn't used her debit card and hasn't updated her Facebook page. Police searched Leakin Park, handed out hundreds of fliers and set up a hot line. Clear Channel donated billboard space to show her photo along city highways

Nancy Grace is covering Phylicia's case right now.

Thank you, Fanny Mae.  I'm just not seeing much movement in this case.  I really fear for Phylicia.  I hope there will be some news soon.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/01/15/maryland.missing.girl/
video
Case of missing N.C. honor student still a mystery after 2 weeks
January 15, 2011

(snipped)
n an interview with HLN's "Nancy Grace" on Friday, Barnes' mother, Janice Sallis, said she spoke with Barnes' oldest half-sister multiple times before allowing Barnes to go to Baltimore.

"She knows how protective I was as her mother. She wasn't allowed to have a boyfriend," Sallis said. "She didn't have men; we didn't have men coming in and out of our environment."

Sallis said she was "stunned" and "devastated" after learning from one of Barnes' siblings that "there was a listing of 20 different guys going in and out" of where Barnes was staying and that her daughter -- who recently turned 17 -- was allowed to drink alcohol.

A Baltimore police spokesman has said more than 100 Baltimore police, Maryland State Police troopers and FBI agents have been working on the case.

Sallis said she had encouraged Barnes to reach out to her siblings on her father's side of the family.

"I encouraged her to go on Facebook to look for them because she hadn't heard from that side of her family, from her father, in over eight years," Sallis said. "And I, as a mother, didn't want my daughter not knowing who her other side of her DNA is. I didn't want her going from man to man looking for her father in relationships, so I encouraged her to look for her half-sisters online and maybe she could find her father that way because she hadn't heard from him in over eight years."

According to police, Barnes communicated through text messages with her half sister about 12:30 p.m. the day she disappeared. The ex-boyfriend of the half-sister was moving out of the apartment and said he saw Barnes on the couch at about 1:30 p.m., but when he came back to the apartment at about 5:10 p.m., Barnes was not there. The door was reportedly unlocked, and the music in the apartment was extremely loud.

Last week, Baltimore police spokesman Anthony J. Guglielmi said the FBI did a profile on the girl and found no reason she would run away. She is a good student with no emotional disturbances in her life, he said.

"The fact set of this case is different than anything else we've seen," he said.

Sallis made an emotional statement to CNN affiliate WBFF about her daughter.

"I want my daughter back," Sallis said. "She doesn't belong to whoever she's with. She doesn't belong with them. They are not her friends, they are not her family, they don't care anything about her. If they did, she wouldn't be where she's at."

Anyone with information on Barnes' disappearance can call 855-223-0033.

I wonder if the sisters were jealous of  Phylicia?

I wonder if they are investigating this ex-boy friend of her sister? If he was just moving out, there may have been some anger there.

http://radioamber.net/?p=4051
Phylicia Barnes Still Missing Despite Efforts
January 16, 2011

Phylicia Barnes is still missing despite efforts put forth by authorities and the media. Authorities have involved more than 100 local, state and federal law enforcement officers. Search dogs, helicopters and dive teams have been dispatched in the search. Thousands of flyers were posted in Baltimore and billboards featuring her photo went up, but no sitings of Phylicia have been reported. Authorities have no physical evidence to go on and are dependent on tips from the public to find leads.

Both local and national news media have reported on the case but Phylicia Barnes seems to have disappeared without a trace. Authorities are begining to fear the worse. They are again asking for the public’s help. Congressmen Elijah Cummings of Maryland and Larry Kissell of North Carolina issued a joint statement asking for the public to contact the Baltimore Police with any information they may have on to assist the search.

Baltimore spokesman Anthony Gugliemi said. “Somebody out there knows something.”

Phylicia hasn’t been seen since about 1:30 p.m. Dec. 28 2010 when she left to go to the store.

Authorities have set up a special tip line. Anyone with information on Phylicia Barnes’ disappearance should call 855-223-0033.

::MonkeyCool::


I've been wondering the same. 

me too! Texasmom...

Why, why, why are they not jumping all over this ex moving out at almost the same time she is missing?!!!!???  All I have to say is WTF!  Now, we know they could secretly be all over this man but we wouldn't know should they be doing their job the right way.  Hopefully this is what is going on. Wait a min, did her cell ping outside of the apartment?  Was there movement or do we know.  Guess my dumb a** could go back and look, duh!  I do believe she is dead and I am so sorry!

I think that she has passed as well..she was/is such a good girl and someone who would not want her mother to worry over her..if she was able to call her mother, I think that she would..
this is so sad for their whole family.

The police are probably investigating the ex-boyfriend from can to can't. I am still thinking one or all of the sisters may be complicit in Phylicia's disappearance. After hearing the mother's story the other night about how they didn't even know these girls until a couple of years ago when the mother encouraged Phylicia to find her half siblings and get to know them. She felt she should know her father's other children.

 I think there was jealousy there for some reason. They admitted to giving Phylicia drugs and alcohol. The mom says she had kept Phylicia very close, was a country girl, and didn't even have a boyfriend. I guess they were showing her the high life. She was not prepared for the life they threw her in. I am thinking drug or alcohol overdose and maybe worse. The thought of all the men in that apartment gives me the creeps.

agreed Fanny...

I second that...

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/mom-of-missing-teen-810151.html
Mom of missing teen moves to Atlanta for family support
January 20, 2011

Janice Sallis said she moved back to Atlanta from Monroe, N.C., at her family’s urging.

Her teenage daughter, Phylicia Barnes, disappeared while visiting a half-sister in northwest Baltimore last month. Sallis went to Baltimore on Dec. 30, two days after Barnes’ disappearance, but then came to Georgia because her family didn’t want her to be alone.

“In times like this they won’t let me stay by myself,” Sallis told the AJC.

Barnes turned 17 last week. She vanished without a trace from her half-sister’s apartment on Dec. 28.

Sallis is a nurse and said she can’t go to work right now. She plans to remain in Georgia “when (Barnes) is returned to me.”

“I have more family support here,” she told the AJC.

Baltimore police at one time had half of its homicide force trying to find Barnes. Authorities from the FBI, the National Center for Missing Children and the Maryland State Police continue to search for her.

“Her case is very unlike anything we’ve seen here,” Baltimore Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.

Baltimore police worked about 360 missing persons’ cases in 2010, and all but four were solved, he said.

About 70 tips have come into the nationwide tip line -- 1-855-223-0033 – but none of those led to anything. Guglielmi said some of the tips came in from out of state and investigators continue to pursue those.

“We’ve checked every hospital, every Dumpster, every homeless shelter, most of the vacant buildings,” he said.

Investigators now are re-interviewing people who last saw Barnes alive and really focusing on the timeline of that day, trying to account for every second as best as they can, Guglielmi said.

“We believe strongly that something terrible happened to Phylicia, and whether she’s in Baltimore, Kansas or Connecticut, we don’t know because we don’t have any physical evidence to guide us,” he said. “We base our findings on evidence, and we don’t really give a lot of credit or ammunition to opinion. Right now it’s all opinion, and we’re not going to put much weight behind that.”

Sallis said she isn’t scared, and she doesn’t stare at the clock and count the minutes that her daughter has been gone. On good days, Sallis said she laughs more and talks on the phone or goes shopping at a thrift store with her sister.

On the bad days, Sallis said she isolates herself, going into a room and closing the door. She grieves, prays and talks to God but doesn’t question why this is happening to her.

“It reminds me that I am in a valley, and God is carrying me, although I don’t realize it,” Sallis told the AJC. “I’ve experienced tragedy before, and I thought it was too hard, but God was carrying me.”

Sallis talks to Baltimore police investigators almost every day. She also talks to the media.

She doesn’t talk to Barnes’ father, Russell Barnes of Riverdale. Their daughter’s disappearance reopened old family wounds. Sallis also is angry and feels betrayed by her daughter’s half-sister because she let Barnes drink alcohol and be in “a certain environment that I did not want her around.”

“I felt that she was disrespectful to me as a mother, and I didn’t appreciate that,” Sallis said.

Sallis is unapologetically protective of her daughter, calling herself “old-fashioned” in the way that she raised Barnes.

Her daughter is an honor student, ready to graduate from high school a year early and wants to be a psychiatrist – a career choice that is the latest in a list that included “astronomer,” “ob-gyn” and “pediatrician,” Sallis said.

Barnes already was accepted to some colleges. She was focused on attending a school in Maryland.

Sallis said she wasn’t going to let her daughter go to school out of state, at least not right away. Barnes didn’t know that, Sallis said.

“I didn’t think she was ready to leave the state on her own,” Sallis told the AJC.

The Barnes’ side of the family was one that Sallis said she encouraged her daughter to reconnect with three years ago. Sallis said she told Barnes to use Facebook to find her half-sisters and the contact her father.

Sallis said Barnes’ stepfather had raised her since she was 3 years old but that that wasn’t enough.

“I tried to explain to him that ‘although you’ve been in her life, it’s not the same, she wants to know who her biological father is and where she came from,’” Sallis told the AJC.

Barnes’ December visit to Baltimore was the fourth time she had gone to visit her half-sister, Sallis said.

Sallis, whose rules include “children should be home at a certain hour,” said her daughter was probably enjoying her new-found freedom. She also said her daughter is naïve.

“I tell her, ‘baby, you can’t trust every smile that appears in front of you,’” Sallis said. “She’s a ‘people’ person, and she thought everybody was like her. She’s too trusting.”

Sallis said she had an “uncomfortable” feeling around 8 or 9 p.m. the day Barnes disappeared and immediately called her daughter’s cell phone. It went directly to voice mail.

She tried again, and the same thing happened.

Then, Sallis said she called Barnes’ half-sister who said Barnes was missing.

“I said, ‘what do you mean she’s missing? She’s been missing since 1:30, and no one has called me.’”

She has been critical of the Baltimore police’s response.

The first week in a missing-person’s case is critical, Guglielmi said. During the first 24 hours, police officers are doing a character assessment of the person.

“I can’t begin to tell you how many calls this city gets from people who have gone missing,” he said. “There has to be a small window of time to figure out what you’re dealing with.”

That includes trying to make sure, for example, the person didn’t go hang out at a local college for the night, drive off with an acquaintance from Facebook, or head up to Atlantic City to blow off some steam. In those cases, usually the “missing” person comes back.

“After the first day, we immediately started expecting something else,” Guglielmi said. “The day after she missed her flight home, it was full throttle, and the police commissioner said there’s suspected foul play. We’ve been at that some point ever since.”

Police comb woods, turn up nothing in search for missing N.C. girl
1.20.11

City police on Thursday night searched the woods behind a Southwest Baltimore apartment building as part of their investigation into a missing 16-year-old girl.

Authorities had concentrated the search on what they described as a well near a shed on a property in the 400 block of North Bend Road, south of Edmonson Avenue in the Westgate community near the Baltimore County line.

After draining the well, at about 10:30 p.m., police said that nothing was found as a result of the search.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said that the search was one of about three dozen leads that detectives have investigated over the past 24 days in the search for 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes.

Barnes, from Monroe, N.C., had been visiting her half-sister in an apartment near the Reisterstown Road Shopping Center in Northwest Baltimore. The 16-year-old honor-student had planned on moving to Baltimore and attending Towson University after graduating early from high school.

She was last seen by her sister's boyfriend as he left the apartment on the afternoon of Dec. 28. She was asleep on the couch. Police and family members have said she sent text messages to her sister indicating she was leaving to find lunch.

Barnes never returned and police said they found no trace of her whereabouts. She never used her debit card, her cell phone had either been turned off or broken and there were no sightings of her.

Police deployed half the homicide unit, flooded the neighborhood with posters and sought national television exposure, saying they believed she was the victim of foul play or had been abducted and taken out of state.

The girl's father has visited Baltimore from Atlanta and led searches with volunteers, and the FBI flew over the city two helicopters with special heat-seaking equipment designed to pinpoint heat signatures given off by decaying bodies. Nothing was found. Police also searched a portion of Leakin Park, located south of the sister's apartment and a notorious dumping ground for bodies, but found nothing.

Detectives inteviewed more than a dozen people who had been in and out of the apartment and searched their homes and other property. But police said the stories were consistent and no evidence was found during the searches. They also said there is nothing in Barnes' past to indicate she was involved in any criminal or questionable activity.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-barnes-well-search-20110120,0,4664606.story?track=rss

Here is a headline from the Baltimore Sun.....but the article does not mention a body.....

Police investigate whether body is that of missing N.C. girl

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-01-20/news/bs-md-barnes-well-search-20110120_1_police-comb-woods-search-northwest-baltimore

perhaps they have not posted or updated the story to match the headline yet?

the headline is from a google search

Still nothing on a body find. I have noticed it around the web, but everything points back to http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-01-20/news/bs-md-barnes-well-search-20110120_1_police-comb-woods-search-northwest-baltimore

Nutt I am confused, did they find a body?

I don't know.

http://radioamber.net/?p=4145
Search Still On For Phylicia Barnes
January 21, 2011

Now 17 year old Phylicia Barnes remains missing today. She went missing on December 28th 2010 and almost a month later there are still no traces of her. She was visiting her half sister in Baltimore during the Christmas holidays. She allegedly left the sisters home to go get something to eat and never returned.

Authorities reportedly searched an area in the 400 block of North Bend Road based on a tip. They did not find any traces of girl however. Search teams will return to that area today to continue searching.

Russel Barnes, Hailey’s father has also met with the head of the Guardian Angels who have joined in the search. All are holding onto the hope that Phylicia will be found safe.(snipped)

Here's a couple of  articles

 about the property/well search:
http://www.wbaltv.com/r/26571157/detail.html
Police Search Southwest Baltimore Well For Barnes
Girl, 17, Missing Since Dec. 28
January 21, 2011

BALTIMORE -- Police continue their search for clues in the case of a 17-year-old girl who went missing in Baltimore late last year.

The latest tip in the case took authorities to a well located in southwest Baltimore.

Phylicia Barnes, of Monroe, N.C., was last seen Dec. 28. She had come to Baltimore to visit relatives.

Thursday night, investigators searched an area in the 400 block of North Bend Road after receiving a tip. But the search didn't turn up any
signs of the girl.


Crews planned Friday to return to the area, according to police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.

Barnes' father has also met with the head of the Guardian Angels.

The Barnes case has been featured on NBC's "Today" and "Nightly News," among other programs.

Police, who have said they suspect foul play in the disappearance, have set up a hot line for people to share tips. The number is 855-223-0033.
Barnes hasn't used her cell phone or credit card since she was last seen, and hasn't updated her social networking pages.

The FBI and the Center for Missing and Exploited Children are also involved in the search.
(snipped)

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/blog/2011/01/search_for_missing_teen_comes.html
Search for missing teen comes up empty
January 21, 2011
(http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/blog/girlsearch2.JPG)
On Thursday, authorities were at a property off the 400 block of North Bend Road, near Edmonson Avenue close to the Baltimore County line.  The photo at left by The Sun's Gene Sweeney Jr. shows the search.



A hours-long search behind an apartment complex in Southwest Baltimore Thursday night came up empty in the hunt for Phylicia Barnes. It's not clear what drew police to a backyard shed, but they pumped water from a well and found nothing inside.

Police described the search as one of many they've done since Barnes, 17, disappeared Dec. 28 from her sister's Northwest Baltimore apartment. Police have searched the homes of people who had access to the apartment and questioned more than a dozen men, but have reported not a single lead in the case. (snip)

Why are they being so secretive about the people involved in this story?  We don't know who all the sisters are, and they keep trying to force the idea that 28 is "college aged", not IMO, we also have no idea of who the Ex-BF is.  Why are all of these people being protected.  Additionally, just re-reading through the thread I did a C&P of 5 different accounts of what she was doing, or planning to do, the afternoon she went missing:

Told sister she was going shopping 1/7 aol article 2:30 12/28

In a brief interview, Phylicia Barnes' elder half-sister, Deena Barnes, 27, said her sister was sleeping when she left her apartment at 8:45 a.m Dec. 28. She said they spoke on the phone and texted several times that morning and through the afternoon, mostly about setting up a hair appointment for the teen. She said allegations made by Phylicia Barnes' mother, Janice Sallis, that large groups of men often congregated in her apartment are "untrue."

Phylicia was last heard from on December 28th 2010 via her Facebook account. She posted a note saying she was at her sister’s apartment with her sister’s boyfriend.

According to police, Barnes communicated through text messages with her half sister about 12:30 p.m. the day she disappeared. The ex-boyfriend of the half-sister was moving out of the apartment and said he saw Barnes on the couch at about 1:30 p.m., but when he came back to the apartment at about 5:10 p.m., Barnes was not there. The door was reportedly unlocked, and the music in the apartment was extremely loud.

She was last seen by her sister's boyfriend as he left the apartment on the afternoon of Dec. 28. She was asleep on the couch. Police and family members have said she sent text messages to her sister indicating she was leaving to find lunch.

I have to wonder just how hard they are trying to find her, they being anyone beyond her parents.  Just who is this ex who was moving out, was it a planned or sudden move, did he have helpers.  There has to be a whole lot to this story that is intentionally being kept secret.

You have some very valid questions and observations, yuknomenot If the bolded part of your post is from an article, you should have included the link back to it.  If you can find it again and post it, I'll edit and insert it into your original post.  Thanks.  MuffyBee

Sorry Muffybee, I was only copying and posting from articles already cited on this thread, didn't realize I had to include all the sources yet again simply to put all the info together in one post.  Here it is corrected if you want to replace it by copying the entire section.  Thanks.

(from post #26, page 2 of this thread http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/07/police-national-media-needed-in-search-for-missing-north-caroli/?icid=main%7Chtmlws-main-w%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk3%7C194167&a_dgi=aolshare_twitter (http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/07/police-national-media-needed-in-search-for-missing-north-caroli/?icid=main%7Chtmlws-main-w%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk3%7C194167&a_dgi=aolshare_twitter))
Told sister she was going shopping 1/7 aol article 2:30 12/28

(from reply #34, page 2 of this thread http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-missing-girl-father-20110108,0,2736197.story?track=rss (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-missing-girl-father-20110108,0,2736197.story?track=rss))
In a brief interview, Phylicia Barnes' elder half-sister, Deena Barnes, 27, said her sister was sleeping when she left her apartment at 8:45 a.m Dec. 28. She said they spoke on the phone and texted several times that morning and through the afternoon, mostly about setting up a hair appointment for the teen. She said allegations made by Phylicia Barnes' mother, Janice Sallis, that large groups of men often congregated in her apartment are "untrue."

(from reply #47, page 3 of this thread http://radioamber.net/?p=3971 (http://radioamber.net/?p=3971))
Phylicia was last heard from on December 28th 2010 via her Facebook account. She posted a note saying she was at her sister’s apartment with her sister’s boyfriend.

(from reply #63, page 4 of this thread http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/01/15/maryland.missing.girl/video (http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/01/15/maryland.missing.girl/video))
According to police, Barnes communicated through text messages with her half sister about 12:30 p.m. the day she disappeared. The ex-boyfriend of the half-sister was moving out of the apartment and said he saw Barnes on the couch at about 1:30 p.m., but when he came back to the apartment at about 5:10 p.m., Barnes was not there. The door was reportedly unlocked, and the music in the apartment was extremely loud.

(from reply #79, page 4 of this thread http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-barnes-well-search-20110120,0,4664606.story?track=rss) (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-barnes-well-search-20110120,0,4664606.story?track=rss))
She was last seen by her sister's boyfriend as he left the apartment on the afternoon of Dec. 28. She was asleep on the couch. Police and family members have said she sent text messages to her sister indicating she was leaving to find lunch.

I'm happy to so do, though actually I'd be much happier if there was no need for links, because there weren't links because all these sick freaks simply did not exist.   ::MonkeyMad::

I'm hoping that LE is doing their job and running down this exbf and his friends.  Maybe he had a helper or two while moving?  Who knows, but to me it all points to him.  Maybe PB's sister had crazy thoughts of jealousy toward her and believed something was going on between exbf and Phylicia?  Just throwing out random thoughts!  All MOO!  Look at what LE did and how quick they resolved things in the recent Las Vegas/Flores-Narvaez case!

http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/the-search-continues-for-missing-teen-phylicia-barnes-012111 (http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/the-search-continues-for-missing-teen-phylicia-barnes-012111)

The Search Continues for Missing Teen Phylicia Barnes
17-year-old went missing late December

Updated: Friday, 21 Jan 2011, 11:26 PM EST
Published : Friday, 21 Jan 2011, 11:26 PM EST

BALTIMORE - The search continues for a young woman missing since the end of December.

17- year old Phylicia Barnes is a promising high school senior from North Carolina who vanished without a trace while visiting her family in Baltimore.

With no leads, Phylicia's family wants to expand the search nationwide and Baltimore city police are pushing to get that attention.

Police have even gone so far as to say the reason they're not getting it is because Phylicia is African- American.

Laura Evans talked with police communications director Anthony Guglielmi.

*****************
IMO, they aren't getting the attention because they're doing nothing to attract attention, ie: being more forthcoming with information.  It has nothing to do with race and everything to do with their own secrecy.  They've done nothing to keep the public's attention which is short-lived at best.

I agree with you.  It is up to the family to keep the persons name in the news and they are doing very little. 

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/01/22/1999572/in-maryland-search-still-on-for.html
In Maryland, search still on for local teen
January 22, 2011

The search for a Monroe teen missing in Baltimore is in its fourth week, with police still searching and an N.C. congressman offering his help to the family.

Baltimore police said Friday they have no new information in the case of Phylicia Barnes, 17, who was last seen Dec. 28 at her stepsister's apartment in northwest Baltimore. Deena Barnes, the stepsister, told police she received a text message that afternoon from Phylicia, who indicated she was going to get something to eat.

She hasn't been seen since. Police also report no activity on her Facebook page, her cell phone, or her bank account.

Baltimore police say the case remains active, and officers conducted a search Thursday night that lasted several hours. They reported finding no evidence.

U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell, whose 8th Congressional District includes Monroe, said he has offered his help to Phylicia's family. He told WCNC-TV, the *******'s news partner, that he and U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., have been working together.

"We want to keep the story alive," Kissell told WCNC-TV. "Somebody might talk to somebody who talks to somebody, and that may be the break that we are looking for to get her back home safely."

Phylicia, a senior at Union Academy, lived in Monroe with her mother, Janice Sallis.

Sallis has since moved to Atlanta, telling the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she wants to be closer to family.

"In times like this, they won't let me be by myself," she told the Journal-Constitution.

Police in Baltimore have received help from Maryland state police and the FBI. A broadcasting company has donated space on billboards along the Interstate 95 corridor between Baltimore and New York City. The billboards include Barnes' photo and are in response to the possibility that the Monroe teen might have been abducted and taken out of Baltimore.

Baltimore police say they have received several dozen tips and conducted a number of searches. The most recent was Thursday night in southwest Baltimore. Officers looked on residential property, searching a garage and a well. WCNC-TV and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution contributed.

http://www.11alive.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=174612&catid=3

Eve Chen

Last Updated On:  1/24/2011 6:35:24 PM

ATLANTA -- Nearly a month after the disappearance of a North Carolina teen with Atlanta ties, police have no suspects, no motive and very few leads.

Still Phylicia Barnes' parents aren't giving up hope.

"Our goal is to find Phylicia and see what's going on," the 17-year-old's father Russell Barnes said. "We haven't given up that goal. I've heard from people who have had missing family members for years and they haven't given up, so I can't do it either."

Phylicia's mother Janice Sallis lives in Riverdale. She says her daughter was visiting her half-sister in Baltimore when she disappeared Dec. 28.

"I don't know if she walked out or if she was carried out," Sallis told 11Alive News last week. Investigators have said they do not believe the teen ran away or is staying away willingly.

Acting on a tip, police searched a well and wooded area in Baltimore late last week, but turned up nothing.

Detectives said they have looked into more than 70 tips since Phylicia disappeared. The FBI and the Center for Missing and Exploited Children are also involved in the search.

"We're interviewing people. It's all anecdotal from witnesses," said police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. "Our detectives are usually driven by some type of physical evidence, and we just don't have that here,"

A hotline has been set up for people to share tips. The number is 855-223-0033.


(NBC/CNN contributed to this report.)

http://www.wect.com/Global/story.asp?S=13782424

Last person to see missing teen hires attorney
Posted: Jan 04, 2011 4:21 PM EST
Updated: Jan 27, 2011 9:58 AM EST
 

BALTIMORE, MD (WBTV) – The last person to see Phylicia Barnes before she disappeared in December has now hired an attorney, WBTV.com has confirmed. The man, who WBTV.com is not identifying by name because no charges have been filed, is the ex-boyfriend of Deena Barnes, Phylicia's half-sister.

"That's ironic because we don't have attorneys," Phylicia's father, Russell said by phone, "because we don't have anything to hide so that's a mystery to us in itself."

Barnes said when he arrived in Baltimore soon after Phylicia was reported missing, the man told him Phylicia had planned to leave the apartment to get something to eat. "We know Phylicia -- if she would have got up to get something to eat later on she would have texted Deena."

Barnes said he now questions the man's account of the day Phylicia disappeared.

"He actually didn't come back to the house once Phylicia came up missing, until 2 or 3 oclock that morning after they were calling for him

 ::monkeyscissors::

Thanks for the update, SuzieQ.  I hope the investigation into Phylicia's disappearance is starting to get some kind of direction.  Phylicia will be missing for one month, tomorrow. 

  Frankly, I think there are definitely people have knowledge in this case that need to start talking.  Since Deena Barnes ex bf saw Phylicia last, it does have a bearing on the case.  I am concerned now that he's hired an attorney there won't be much forthcoming from him.  The police have a big job.  Even if he doesn't speak, I would think there are others that may not be involved directly, but have knowledge and they aren't talking.  The reason they aren't talking?  Maybe they are involved with illegal activity or fear retribution.  When I see cases like this one where there seems to be nothing, no leads and the silence is deafening, it leads me to believe there's an evil underbelly.  Young women like Phylicia don't disappear into thin air.   ::MonkeyNoNo:: 

Hot dang!!!  I posted it here and prayed on it as I believed the exbf did know something.  I'm not saying LE hasn't been all over him but at least now there is someone put in the spotlight enough to maybe make someone with more info come forward.  I do believe it was him and now I just hope her 1/2 (right?) sis isn't involved!  Please God, let this child come home whatever condition she may be in!  She deserves a rest and so do her parents!

Who is this ex-boyfriend that they are putting so much effort into protecting. 

BBM

I've yet to come across an article that specifically notes the name of the ex-boyfriend.  (Hat tip-Suzie Q)

http://www.wect.com/Global/story.asp?S=13782424

Last person to see missing teen hires attorney
Posted: Jan 04, 2011 4:21 PM EST
Updated: Jan 27, 2011 9:58 AM EST

BALTIMORE, MD (WBTV) – The last person to see Phylicia Barnes before she disappeared in December has now hired an attorney, WBTV.com has confirmed. The man, who WBTV.com is not identifying by name because no charges have been filed, is the ex-boyfriend of Deena Barnes, Phylicia's half-sister. (snip)

http://www.examiner.com/crime-in-national/phylicia-barnes-news-half-sister-s-boyfriend-hires-lawyer-says-missing-girl-s
Phylicia Barnes news: Half sister’s boyfriend hires lawyer, says girl's dad
January 28, 2011

Russell Barnes, the father of missing North Carolina teen, Phylicia Barnes, told reporters Thursday that the boyfriend of his missing daughter’s half sister has retained an attorney.

According to the CharlotteObserver.com, Barnes finds it perplexing as to why the man would need to hire legal representation. In a prior interview with AOL News, Barnes said “There are a couple people hindering the case… Some people have gotten lawyers… and the police don’t understand why.”
(snipped)
Barnes has told WBTV that the morning Phylicia vanished, the boyfriend could not be found and did not return to the half-sister’s apartment until the early morning hours of Dec. 29. Nonetheless, Baltimore police say they have questioned everyone who was in the apartment in the days prior to Phylicia vanishing, but obtained no leads as a result.
(snipped)

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20030439-504083.html

Phylicia Barnes Update: School of Missing NC Teen Offers $25,000 Reward, Police Still Have No Leads

(CBS/WJZ/AP) The North Carolina school of missing 17-year-old Phylicia Barnes is offering a $25,000 reward for her safe return, one month after she vanished from Maryland while visiting relatives.

Barnes, an honor roll student from Monroe, N.C., located about 25 miles southeast of Charlotte, was last seen Dec. 28 at her half-sister's apartment in northwest Baltimore.

Despite intense searches in more than three dozen locations, more than 100 detectives being assigned to the case, and billboards displaying the young girl's face where she was last seen, police say they still have no leads in the investigation.

The $25,000 reward was announced Jan. 28 and comes from the Phil Hargett Memorial Fund, created last year to help students at the school in financial need. Officials at the public charter school say the committee that runs the fund decided the biggest need for its students right now is the safe return of their classmate.

snipped:

FWIW - NG reported tonight that the half sister's ex boyfriend showed up at the police station and he is talking, whatever that means. Hopefully Phylicia will be with her family soon.

I saw that too. I wonder if this is the first time they have talked to him.

thanks for the update Samarie

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/02/08/2044830/missing-teens-baltimore-relatives.html

Missing teen's Baltimore relatives recount last day
Half-siblings agonize over the whereabouts of Phylicia Barnes, visiting from Monroe.

By Beth Shayne
WCNC-TV
Posted: Tuesday, Feb. 08, 2011


BALTIMORE, Md. On the corkboard outside the homicide unit at the Baltimore Police Department, detectives have posted fliers with photos of the victims they are seeking justice for.

Among them you'll find a teenager in a pink shirt smiling in a self-portrait. Phylicia Barnes is officially listed as "Missing."

Sixteen-year-old Phylicia, a senior at Union Academy in Monroe, was last seen Dec. 28 at her half-sister's apartment in Baltimore. The teenager was there for her Christmas vacation, visiting her older half-siblings and other relatives in Baltimore. A child of divorced parents, she'd only recently reconnected with that part of her family.

"She actually found us on Facebook about two years ago," Kelly Barnes, a day care worker, explained.

"As soon as we got in contact with her, it was like a bond immediately," Deena Barnes, a pharmacy tech, said.

"It was our little sister, as soon as we met her," Bryan Barnes, a firefighter, added.

 ::snipping2::

Just after 1 p.m., Deena heard from her ex-boyfriend. The couple was in the midst of a breakup, and he was moving out of the apartment. He had a key, and texted that he was in the apartment and had noticed Phylicia's phone ringing. He told Deena she was asleep.

As the afternoon wore on, both sisters assumed that Phylicia had found other things to do. It wasn't until 6 p.m., when Deena arrived home from work, that she started to panic. She called her brother, her sister, and her ex. Phylicia wasn't with her siblings, and Deena's ex-boyfriend wasn't answering the phone.

After 7 p.m., she finally spoke to him. He said he'd left Phylicia asleep at 1:30 p.m.

Sgt. William Simmons of the Baltimore Police Department, does not consider either Deena or her ex a suspect in the case. "We have interviewed them both on multiple occasions," he said.

 ::snipping2::

Thanks for this latest article SuzieQ.  I can't shake the feeling that there is a whole lot of covering up going on here and it has to do with the ex-BF.

I agree.

I came here today hoping the perps had been arrested.  I hope LE is taking their time in building a solid case.  Baltimore cops usually do get their man , especially in disappearances.

http://chathousecares.amplify.com/2011/02/22/baltimore-police-look-to-media-to-find-missing-teen-phylicia-barnes/

Baltimore Police Look To Media To Find Missing Teen (Phylicia Barnes)Feb 22, 2011 8:23am by ChatHouse Cares

 ::snipping2::

http://www.npr.org/2011/02/21/133681328/baltimore-police-look-to-media-to-find-missing-teen

February 21, 2011
Police in Baltimore are pleading for help to find a 17-year-old who vanished from her family's apartment Dec. 28. Foul play is suspected but there are no leads, and detectives and family members hope media coverage of Phylicia Simone Barnes' case will help them find her.

 ::snipping2::

With help from the FBI, Baltimore police have even used technology that finds heat signatures given off by human bodies. But they found nothing.

"We don't have any physical evidence to help us out otherwise. There's no forensics, there's no blood spatter, there's nothing to indicate that she was harmed in the apartment," Guglielmi says. "We've used canine, we've used every resource at our disposal. Phylicia's trail goes cold at the front door."

 ::snipping2::

http://www.wbaltv.com/r/26964955/detail.html
Video
Vigil Held For Phylicia Barnes
N.C. Teen Missing Since Dec. 28
February 23, 2011

BALTIMORE -- Family and friends of a teen missing since late December gathered Tuesday night for a vigil.
 ::snipping2::

Here's an article with a little more news about the prayer vigil held for Phylicia:

http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/news/region/baltimore_city/praying-for-answers-in-missing-teen-case
Video
Praying for answers in missing teen case
February 23, 2011

BALTIMORE - The family of missing teen Phylicia Barnes isn't giving up hope.

During a vigil held Tuesday night, Phylicia’s sisters joined other members of the community at New Christian Bible Baptist Church on West Northern Parkway in Baltimore to pray for her safe return. Her family says they're not giving up the search and beg anyone who may know something to come forward.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.reporternews.com/news/2011/jan/22/kampfer/
Two months, still no sign of Phylicia Barnes
February 28, 2011

http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/news/crime_checker/baltimore_city_crime/search-for-phylicia-barnes-running-cold
Video
Search for Phylicia Barnes running cold
February 28, 2011

BALTIMORE - In the last two months Baltimore homicide detectives and the FBI have combed through one hundred and thirty tips, but still no sign of Phylicia Barnes.

Investigators have taken tips from as far away as Washington State and have searched well outside the borders of Baltimore city.

They are simply at a dead end and are taking the opportunity of this two month anniversary of Barnes’ disappearance to appeal to the public again.

Right now the police have a special squad of six detectives with a sergeant working the case and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
 ::snipping2::

GypsyDD, I agree . . . which makes this case all the more baffling.

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/27122304/detail.html

Lead Detective In Phylicia Barnes Case Suspended
Posted: 3:05 pm EST March 8, 2011
Updated: 5:07 pm EST March 8, 2011

BALTIMORE, Md. -- A Baltimore police officer who led the investigation into a missing local teen is now off the job.

Investigators said Maj. Terrance McLarney left the scene of a crash he was involved in on Sunday.

McLarney has been put on suspension

 ::snipping2::

http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2011/03/10/the-disappearance-of-phylicia-barnes/

The Disappearance of Phylicia Barnes
March 10, 2011 by Laura Paskus

The media’s inattention to missing women of color is nothing new. Criticism of that trend isn’t either—and yet, it continues.

Consider how names such as Elizabeth Smart, Natalee Holloway or JonBenet Ramsey rank in name recognition, even years after their disappearances.

Then consider names such as Starr Snead, Artdrunetta Hobbs or Lachrica Jefferson. All are women of color who disappeared in the last 25 years.

You’ve never heard of any of those young women, have you?

 ::snipping2::

While the above article contains nothing new, either in facts or opinions, I thought this comment was interesting.

Bbksmum · 1 hour ago
A huge part of why Phylicia's story isn't getting the media attention is because of the family. The sister who's apartment Phylicia was last seen in, has moved and changed her number. Her mother moved and when interviewed appeared more upset that her daughter had drank, etc. than the whereabouts of Phylicia.
Now, I'm not saying that they aren't hurting. But I am saying that there is more that they can do. Now is not the time to hold grudges against the father of your missing child. Put the petty "hurt feelings" away and join together to find your kid. The most important thing is finding your child, not how hurt you are by being dissed in the past. GROW UP!!!!!!! Get your kids name out there. Put some pressure on the ex-boyfriend, put some pressure on anyone who was in that building that day. Put some pressure on the police to talk to people they've already talked to. Aliens didn't take her, so obviously someone knows something. Keep on getting her name out there. Do an interview that doesn't talk about the poor teenage decisions she made while on vacation, but talk about who last saw her, where her cell phone was last used and things like that. If you want results, you have to piss some people off first. 

It is really up to the family to keep the name out there once the case goes cold..interesting how some stories are picked up nightly by the media while others are not..I think that there are a lot of missing children, white, black, Asian, Hispanic whose stories don't get followed up on...but is it race? I don't care what color a missing child is..they are missing..
Mom and the rest of the family needs to work together and find out what happened to this beautiful child..When I have seen the mom on tv, it WAS always about how bad the sister was...how disappointed she was in the sister etc...She appeared to be more worried about maintaining how perfect of a parent she was when her daughter was in her care etc..jmo...it rather turns the public off with her demeanor I think...

Cookie, I agree. And this mom moved from NC to Atlanta, while her child was missing. What if she was alive and tried to get in touch with her mom in NC.

I didn't know that mom had moved until I read it here..Who does that?? was there a reason for mom to move at this time?  ::MonkeyNoNo::
I didn't get any warm and fuzzies from mom in regards to her daughter..

Exactly!  WHO does do that?  Unless being thrown out or something out of my control I couldn't move from the last place my child called home!  It would be all about my child then and not one thought about myself. But that is how most of us parent anyhow!

Ditto.

I don't believe I'd move an inch from where I lived with a loved one that is missing, but that's me.  I would do all I could to stay and wait for my loved one in case they came back or sent someone to find me, even if it was years.  JMHO   It looks like Phylicia's mom Ms. Sillis moved to be closer to family. 

BBM

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/mom-of-missing-teen-810151.html
Mom of missing teen moves to Atlanta for family support
January 20, 2011

Janice Sallis said she moved back to Atlanta from Monroe, N.C., at her family’s urging.

Her teenage daughter, Phylicia Barnes, disappeared while visiting a half-sister in northwest Baltimore last month. Sallis went to Baltimore on Dec. 30, two days after Barnes’ disappearance, but then came to Georgia because her family didn’t want her to be alone.

“In times like this they won’t let me stay by myself,” Sallis told the AJC.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/01/22/1999572/in-maryland-search-still-on-for.html
In Maryland, search still on for local teen
January 22, 2011

 ::snipping2::
Sallis has since moved to Atlanta, telling the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she wants to be closer to family.

"In times like this, they won't let me be by myself," she told the Journal-Constitution.
 ::snipping2::

Thank you Muffy for this article.
It sounds like she doesn't think her daughter is coming home alive.  Bless her heart.

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/27339602/detail.html

Police Have A New Plan To Search For Phylicia Barnes

Seventeen-year-old Phylicia Barnes disappeared in Baltimore three months ago Monday, and Baltimore police are sharing details about a new plan already in place to try and find her.

Barnes is a senior at Union Academy in Monroe. She was visiting her sister in Baltimore over Christmas break when she vanished.

Baltimore police found drugs and alcohol in the residence, and say several men had been in and out of the apartment. Police said there is no physical evidence in the case, and no more leads to investigate.

Phylicia Barnes' photo will be featured on Red Plum's coupon circulars this week, which are put in newspapers around the country. Baltimore police are hopeful it could bring new exposure to the case.

 ::snipping2::

SuzieQ, I sure hope this bring new leads.

I do too, but untill someone who lived in or visited that apartment talks, I'm not holding my breath.

http://www.ajc.com/news/teen-now-missing-for-889009.html

Teen now missing for three months

Baltimore police are preparing for another large-scale search for Phylicia Barnes, a teenager with metro Atlanta ties who disappeared from her half-sister’s Baltimore apartment three months ago today.

 Baltimore Police Dept. 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 Phylicia Barnes' case.

Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said authorities will search an area that they have investigated before.

“We wanted to dig deeper earlier, but the weather got in the way,” he said, adding that he will reveal the area as the day of the actual search gets closer.

 ::snipping2::

Was watching a Baltimore television station this morning and Phylicia's picture was on the news as a renewed effort is being made.  I pray this brings results.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-barnes-missing-search-20110409,0,5387856.story

Police search Patapsco Valley State Park for missing teen
Part of park closed as detectives conduct latest effort to find girl

Video at site.

http://www.wbaltv.com/r/27490276/detail.html
Police: Body Found In State Park Is Not Missing Teen
Volunteers Searching For Teen Find Body
April 9, 2011

BALTIMORE -- Maryland State Police are investigating after the body of a man was found at the Patapsco Valley State Park on Saturday.

The body was taken to the Office of the State Medical Examiner for identification and autopsy. The cause and manner of death will be determined pending autopsy results.

Police said a volunteer search group assisting in the search for missing North Carolina teenager Phylicia
 ::snipping2::

wth? looking for this girl and another dead body is found??? how many dead bodies are out there that are found by mistake like that???

The State Park is fairly large.
At least it will answer questions for someone's family.

http://www.wcti12.com/news/27500764/detail.html
Searchers Empty-Handed After Looking For Missing NC Teen
April 11, 2011

More than 100 Maryland law officers spent part of Saturday looking for a missing North Carolina teenager, but they left empty-handed.
 ::snipping2::
Crews scoured Patapsco State Park. Police focused on the park because it was mentioned by one of the persons of interest they have interviewed.
 ::snipping2::

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

Source: Body found in MD river could be missing Monroe teen

CONOWINGO, MD (WBTV) - The body of a woman found in a Maryland River Wednesday may be the missing teen, a source familiar with the investigation told WBTV.com.

The body, found in the Susquehanna River in Conowingo, MD, had a tattoo on the lower right leg, the source said. According to the FBI missing poster, Barnes had a tattoo of a rose on her lower right leg.

 ::snipping2::

http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/Report-Body-found-in-Maryland-river-could-belong-to-missing-teen-120366454.html
Body found in river could belong to missing teen
April 21, 2011


PORT DEPOSIT, Md. -- Maryland medical examiners are comparing a missing Monroe teen's dental records with one of two bodies found on the Susquehanna River.
 ::snipping2::
Chief Medical Examiner David Fowler says that Phylicia Barnes is the only missing person in the area who matches the age and gender of the body that was found. He says her dental records are the only set police have submitted for comparison.

WBAL-TV, the NBC affiliate in Baltimore, reported that a source familiar with the case said the leading clue that the body may belong to Barnes is a distinctive tattoo. Barnes has a tattoo of a rose on her lower right leg.

State police are expected to release more details later Thursday.

Officials are also conducting an autopsy for the body of a man was found in the same area Wednesday. It is not clear if there is any connection between the two bodies.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.wbtv.com/story/14489206/detectives-investigating-missing-monroe-teen-case-notified-of-bodies-found-in-md-river?redirected=true
Body found in river is missing Monroe teen, father confirms
April 21, 2011

CONOWINGO, MD (WBTV) - The father of missing teenager Phylicia Barnes confirms to WBTV that one of the two bodies found in a Maryland River on Wednesday is the body of his daughter, who went missing in December.
 ::snipping2::
Doctors at Maryland's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner were conducting the an autopsy on the woman's body as well as the body of a man found hours after the female.

"While investigators were continuing to investigate the first body recovery, they were contacted about a second body seen in the water shortly before 2:00 p.m. Wednesday," Maryland State Police Spokesperson Greg Shipley said in a news release.
 ::snipping2::

This is really sad.   ::MonkeyNoNo::  I didn't believe Phylicia left on her own.  I hope the investigation turns up some evidence.  Hoping for justice for Phylicia and her family.  I'll move this to "Missing Found Deceased". 

How sad.  Speculating here, I wonder if the half sister's ex-boyfriend tried to rape Phylicia and another guy came to her defense and both were killed by the ex-boyfriend?

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/phylicia-barnes-teen-missing-919934.html
Phylicia Barnes, teen missing since December found dead in Md
April 21, 2011




 ::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 have found no reason to go to Atlanta, he told the AJC.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-barnes-body-20110421,0,6874419.story
Sources: Body found in river is missing Barnes
North Carolina teen vanished from Northwest Baltimore in December
April 21, 2011

The desperate search for missing honors student Phylicia Barnes came to a heartbreaking end Thursday, after an autopsy determined that a body pulled from the Susquehanna River Wednesday was that of the North Carolina teen who vanished from Baltimore in December.

Two law enforcement sources said the autopsy had found that the body was identified as Barnes; state police later confirmed the finding and said a press conference has been scheduled for 8 p.m.
  ::snipping2::
With the discovery of her body in state waters, state police will now assume control of the investigation, officials say.
 ::snipping2::
Authorities had not ruled out that Barnes was the victim of a random abduction. Detectives have been perplexed by a stunning lack of physical evidence, with not a single person coming forward with a credible tip or sighting.
 ::snipping2::
Police said crews working on the dam Wednesday morning reported seeing what appeared to be a body floating in the river north of the dam at about 7:30 a.m., and Natural Resources police later recovered the body of a female from the water.

In the afternoon, boaters in the river south of the dam also found the body of a man.
 ::snipping2::

I had no doubts   ::MonkeyNoNo::

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.

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.
**************************
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.

So sad...  ::MonkeyNoNo::

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

RIP Phylicia   ::MonkeyAngel::

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.
 ::snipping2::
"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::

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.
 ::snipping2::
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::

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.

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

 ::snipping2::
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.

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

 ::snipping2::
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::

So very sad.

 ::MonkeyNoNo::

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.

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.

 ::snipping2::

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.

 ::snipping2::

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

 ::snipping2::
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::

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

(http://media.wcnc.com/images/042211-Phylicia+Barnes+rock.jpg)

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...

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.

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.

 ::snipping2::

 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.
 ::snipping2::

very sad for this man and his family.

now, we need to know what happened to Phylicia...and who did it...

http://www.wbtv.com/story/14524311/fund-established-in-honor-of-phylicia-barnes
Fund established in honor of Phylicia Barnes
April 27, 2011

MONROE, NC (WBTV) - A fund to help the family of Phylicia Barnes has been established to help the teen's family with funeral expenses, WBTV.com has learned.
 ::snipping2::
Phylicia Barnes Fund
American Community Bank
P.O. Box 5035
Monroe, NC 28111
(704) 225-8444

http://www.wbaltv.com/r/27691432/detail.html
Final Vigil To Be Held For Phylicia Barnes
Family Urging Community To Come Out
April 27, 2011

 ::snipping2::
Phylicia's family is encouraging the community to attend an outdoor vigil from 7-9 p.m. Thursday at 6520 Eberle Lane at the Reisterstown Square Apartments, where the teen was last seen.

The family is asking the community to bring either a purple or white candle to light in Phylicia’s honor.

The Barnes family thanked the community for its continued support and prayers, especially those who contributed to the reward funds. Donations are still being accepted at www.findphylicia.com.

The donations will go toward the memorial and funeral costs for the teen. Those dates have not yet been set.

I still find it odd that they were both found nude.  I just can't imagine someone stripping down to commit suicide.  jmo.

I may be wrong, but I think it has something to do with how fast the currents are, if they are strong enough to remove clothes. This body of water feeds into the Chesapeake Bay, so there are strong currents.
Wasn't little Juliani and the creep that kidnapped him nude when they found their bodies in the canal in Calif.?

No, both were id'ed early from clothing.  http://www.gadailynews.com/national/62324-accused-kidnapper-jose-rodriguez-s-body-found-in-canal.html

Oh..that is so sad for this man's family.  He even checked into a hospital himself.  Poor man..he most have been so tormented by his mental health issues.  Prayers to his family and friends.

http://www.examiner.com/crime-in-national/over-700-gather-to-remember-north-carolina-teen-phylicia-barnes-video
Over 700 gather to remember North Carolina teen Phylicia Barnes (video)
April 29, 2011

Monroe, NC - Thursday night over 700 people gathered to remember Phylicia Barnes, the North Carolina teen whose lifeless body was found in a Maryland river last week.

The memorial took place at Lee Park Baptist Church with hundreds of family and friends in attendance for a service entitled ‘A Celebration of Life.
 ::snipping2::

A $35,000 reward exists for anyone providing information leading to an arrest and conviction in Phylicia’s case. Anyone with knowledge of the case is urged to call 855-223-0033.

http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/news/ncwire/death-teen-found-river-ruled-homicide-470201

Death of teen found in river ruled a homicide

BALTIMORE — Authorities say the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has ruled the death of a North Carolina teen whose body was found in a river months after she went missing in Baltimore a homicide.

 ::snipping2::

Baltimore and Maryland State Police homicide investigators say they will not release the cause of death so as not to compromise the investigation.

 ::snipping2::

Hold the phone...didn't they say just a while back that the ME couldn't outwardly tell how she died?  Does that possibly mean she OD'd?  If so, there is a whole apartment full of peeps that need another looking at.  She prolly never left alive and I just bet StepSis and BF need an azz chewin!!!!

SuzieQ thank you.  I was just about to post the local article on homicide ruling. Here's a snippet anyway and why they will not release change of ruling?

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post_now/post/death-of-nc-teen-found-in-river-ruled-a-homicide/2011/05/04/AFehuHqF_blog.html

Baltimore and Maryland State Police homicide investigators say they will not release the cause of death so as not to compromise the investigation.

snipped.

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-05-04/news/bs-md-barnes-homicide-20110504_1_phylicia-barnes-homicide-death

scroll down for local news video - more information.

Several people involved - no signs of physical trauma or are they just not releasing the signs of physical trauma?  ??? 

one more article and video;  http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2011/05/05/vigil-held-for-phylicia-barnes-at-city-hall/

“They want to limit the amount of information because they want to have control over the types of tips they get in. Also to rule out possible suspects,” said criminologist Jeffrey Ian Ross.

snipped.

I'm in the middle of DC and Baltimore so she's local for me even if she is from NC.  So it seems we still have a killer or killers on the loose in our neck of the woods I want em caught and jailed.

No Excuses Baltimore.  JMO.

http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/news/region/baltimore_city/church-to-stream-barnes-funeral-live-online
Church streaming Phylicia Barnes funeral live online
May 7, 2011

http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=14592624
NC teen remembered for bright smile, passion
May 7, 2011

http://www.afroam.org/sections/news/Baltimore/story.htm?storyid=4935

 ::snipping2::

Greg Shipley, a state police spokesman, told WJZ-TV that investigators are re-interviewing everyone who might have come in contact with Barnes the night before she disappeared. “There is new evidence and information that came as a result of finding her body and so investigators are certainly examining that,” Shipley said.

 ::snipping2::


I don't remember reading this in any other article, but I may have missed it. I wonder why they are so interested in the night before she disappeared?

I had heard it on my local news but when I searched for an article I couldn't find one to post as support.  You found it, yay.  I keep thinking drugs are going to be involved in this case, JMO.  Guess we wait and see now. 

If she overdosed the night before she was reported missing, than there has to be several people involved, including her sister and the sister's boyfriend. At least in knowing what happened and lying about talking to her the day she was reported missing. IMO

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/blog/2011/06/phylicia_barnes_family_to_rall.html

::snip::

Maryland state police have taken the lead on the case but continue to work with Baltimore City homicide detectives. People of interest have been interviewed and re-interviewed but police have not publicly alluded to any suspects or leads.

"There's no good news to share, other than that dedicated investigators have not given up and continue to work this case daily," said Greg Shipley, a state police spokesman. "The passage of six months is not something that's going to discourage the investigators on this case. Their efforts are continuing, and they remain enthusiastic about a successful conclusion."

Case archive album:

http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm166/crankycrankerson/Phylicia%20Barnes%20%20-MD-/

Somebody at JQ found this;

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bal-state-police-phylicia-barnes-investigation-active-20111221,0,4958943.story

snipped:

Investigators have been tight-lipped, with little developments since the summer, when The Sun first reported on July 7 that the FBI was seeking access to Facebook accounts as part of a child pornography investigation.

Anticipating media inquiries, Maryland State Police sent out this statement today describing the investigation as "actively continuing" but declining to reveal any progress:

No charges have been filed or arrests made in connection with the murder of Phylicia Barnes. Investigators have worked the case continually and progress has been made, although making the details of that progress public at this time could hinder the outcome of the investigation. The work of investigators has included re-interviewing family and friends, reviewing evidence, searching for and analyzing additional evidence, and conducting forensic examinations. Investigators have continued to work with the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office and have kept officials there updated on the investigation.

Concerned citizens have called regularly with tips and theories for investigators. That information has all been reviewed, analyzed, and investigated. Police continue to urge anyone with information regarding the murder of Phylicia Barnes to contact them immediately. Persons with information may call the TIPS Line that has been established since Barnes disappeared at 1-855-223-0033. Or, they can call the Maryland State Police duty officer at 410-653-4200. Calls may be kept confidential.

Homicide investigators have maintained contact with the family of Phylicia Barnes, both in North Carolina and Baltimore. They have assured family members the investigation is active and ongoing. 

Today is the 1-year anniversary of Phylicia's murder.

Several article in the news.
I added most to the archive and there will be more tomorrow.
(archive link is a couple posts up)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-delegate-proposing-phylicias-law-a-plan-to-maximize-search-resources-for-missing-kids/2012/02/01/gIQALqchiQ_story.html
Md. delegate proposing ‘Phylicia’s Law,’ a plan to maximize search resources for missing kids
February 1, 2012

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A state delegate from Baltimore is proposing the creation of a plan that would kick in whenever a Maryland child goes missing. Delegate Jill Carter and missing persons advocates gathered Wednesday to discuss a bill aimed at improving cooperation between state agencies and advocacy groups.

“Phylicia’s Law” is named in memory of North Carolina teen Phylicia Barnes, who disappeared in 2010 while visiting Baltimore and was found dead months later. Carter plans to introduce it this session.
The case spurred broader interest in missing persons cases and experts and community members discovered gaps as they helped law enforcement search for Barnes. Some were concerned that the fact that Barnes was black kept the case from getting the media attention it deserved, but her father, Russell, said pressure from a missing person’s family plays a role more than race.
 ::snipping2::
“It came to their attention, and now to mine, that there are severe gaps and holes in Maryland’s process and procedures for finding missing children,” she said. “Phylicia Barnes’ tragedy is one that we know about, but sadly there are hundreds of nameless and faceless and voiceless children that we never shine a light on.”
 ::snipping2::
The bill, which is still a draft, would require state officials to oversee efforts to find children and ensure that local law enforcement, missing children’s organizations, experts and families work together to find children. It would also have to publish the names and relevant information about missing children and annual statistics.
 ::snipping2::
On average, 13,500 children are reported as missing each year in Maryland. About 12,000 are located, but there are about 1,500 to 2,000 open cases on any day, according to state police.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.wbaltv.com/r/30348469/detail.html
Delegate Proposing Plan For Missing Children
Plan Would Improve Cooperation Between State Agencies, Advocacy Groups
February 1, 2012

This is great news... I hope this proposal comes to fruition and begins to set a precedent for how to handle missing children cases.  It's not as much as I'd like to see be done but it is certainly a start.  Public awareness is key so publishing the names and statistics IMO will also make a difference.

Bless this delegate for bringing focus to this issue.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/26/arrest-made-in-death-north-carolina-teen-found-in-river/?test=latestnews (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/26/arrest-made-in-death-north-carolina-teen-found-in-river/?test=latestnews)

Arrest made in death of North Carolina teen found in river

Published April 26, 2012

BALTIMORE –  Baltimore police said they have arrested a man in the death of a North Carolina teenager whose body was found in a river after she vanished in 2010 while visiting relatives in the area.

A man he identified as Michael Johnson has been arrested in the death of 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes, of Monroe, N.C., police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told The Associated Press early Thursday.

Guglielmi said prosecutors would release more information later Thursday on the arrest.

Barnes was visiting her older half-siblings in Baltimore when she disappeared Dec. 28, 2010. Workers at the Conowingo Dam on the Susquehanna River found her body the following April in northeast Maryland. Medical examiners later ruled the death a homicide.

 ::snipping2::

::justice2NJ::

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-04-24/news/bal-homicide-detective-accused-of-forcing-way-into-homes-to-search-for-missing-daughter-20120424_1_homicide-detective-phylicia-barnes-search
Homicide detective accused of forcing way into homes to search for missing daughter
April 24, 2012

A Baltimore Police Department homicide detective has been suspended amid allegations that he used his badge while off-duty to force his way into homes and search for his daughter who had run away, according to law enforcement authorities and sources.

The detective, Daniel Thomas Nicholson IV, had been the lead investigator on the case of Phylicia Barnes, a teenager from North Carolina who went missing in Baltimore. The search for her, which led to her body being found in northern Maryland, became a national story.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57421864-504083/phylicia-barnes-update-michael-johnson-arrested-for-the-murder-of-the-nc-teen-police-say/
Phylicia Barnes Update: Michael Johnson arrested for the murder of the NC teen, police say
April 26, 2012
 ::snipping2::
Michael Johnson has been arrested in the teen's death, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told The Associated Press early Thursday.

Authorities have said Johnson was the former boyfriend of Barnes' older sister and the last person to see her alive. Guglielmi said prosecutors would release more information later Thursday on the arrest.
 ::snipping2::

It is so distressing to me that people have no regard or respect for life.  What has happened within our society that causes one person to view another as disposable?
(http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/oo242/Brandi-Monkey/WEATHER/furby-halo2-1.gif)

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2012/04/26/phylicia-barnes-family-says-they-want-to-know-what-led-to-her-murder/
Phylicia Barnes’ Family Says They Are Seeking Justice After Arrest In Her Murder
April 26, 2012

 ::snipping2::
At Baltimore City Police Headquarters, members of Phylicia Barnes’ family talked about the arrest of Michael Johnson, the last person to see her alive.

Phylicia Barnes’ cousin, Harry Watson, tells WJZ: “I suspected it from the very beginning that it was him. But just suspecting someone, that is not enough. It’s just not enough.”

Johnson, who had vacations with the Barnes family, was not involved in the search for Phylicia Barnes– something her father found odd.

“We’ve still got a long way to go,” Russell Barnes tells WJZ. “I’m not going to claim anything yet until people, or this person, is behind bars forever, or whatever may be the consequence. Maximum punishment, maximum penalty.”
 ::snipping2::

Video at Link

http://wbal.com/article/89232/2/template-story/Man-Charged-With-Murder-In-Phylicia-Barnes-Case
Michael Johnson Charged In Phylicia Barnes' Death
April 26, 2012

A Baltimore grand jury has indicted a man on a first-degree murder charge for the death of Phylicia Barnes, a teenager whose body was found near the Conowingo Dam months after her 2010 disappearance.

The single count of first-degree murder was announced Thursday against Michael Johnson of Baltimore at an afternoon press conference.

Baltimore City State's Attorney Greg Bernstein tells WBAL's Anne Kramer that no other arrests are expected in the case.

Johnson denies killing Barnes who had gone missing for months before her body was found - a girl he considered a sibling of his own even as he broke up with the teen's half-sister, his attorney said Thursday.
 ::snipping2::
Barnes' father told The Associated Press that when his daughter disappeared, the Baltimore man had been breaking up with the teen's older half-sister after dating about 10 years.

"It's been a long day coming. It's a bittersweet day," Russell Barnes said. "I can rest better and maybe Phylicia can rest a whole lot better."

The family had trusted Johnson - the last person to see Phylicia Barnes alive - but he acted suspiciously after the girl disappeared, avoiding people and phone calls, Russell Barnes said.
 ::snipping2::

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2012/04/27/man-charged-with-murder-in-phylicia-barnes-case-cause-of-death-still-unknown/
Prosecutors Reveal Evidence Against Man Charged For Phylicia Barnes’ Murder
April 27, 2012

BALTIMORE (WJZ)– Chilling details on how police say Michael Johnson killed Phylicia Barnes and then moved her body. The revelations come just a short time ago at Johnson’s bail hearing.

Mike Hellgren digs into the allegations.

Major developments in the case after the indictment against Michael Johnson was unsealed. Prosecutors believe Johnson likely strangled Phylicia Barnes and dumped her body into a plastic tub. And it all happened at her sister’s apartment in Northwest Baltimore.
For the first time, prosecutors reveal the evidence against Michael Johnson for the murder of Phylicia Barnes. He is the ex-boyfriend of Barnes’ sister accused of killing the 16-year-old while she was visiting her sister in December 2010.

WJZ has learned Johnson texted and called Barnes 500 times during a three-month period before the visit. And she confided in her sister, “she didn’t like the way he looked at her” and that “he made her feel uncomfortable”.

And that Johnson, the last person to see Barnes alive was seen struggling to carry a 35-gallon container from the apartment moments after she disappeared.

Prosecutors say that’s large enough to fit her body.
 ::snipping2::
Another big development– Johnson’s intercepted phone calls where he spoke of fleeing to another country he could not be extradited.

“I feel like everything is going to hit the fan” Johnson said in one of those phone calls. “I feel like I should pack up some stuff and leave. Maybe leave the country. I should go to Brazil. If I started a new life, would they be able to arrest me?”
 ::snipping2::
Johnson dated Barnes’ sister for 10 years and was in the process of moving out of the apartment when Phylicia disappeared. Barnes’ body was found months later, floating in the Susquehanna River. The cause of death: asphyxiation.

And prosecutors said they have video of Johnson buying that plastic tub at a Walmart. One question was not answered on Friday involving motive: If Johnson did indeed kill Phylicia Barnes, why did he do it?

His bail was denied.

The judge called Johnson a potential threat to society, especially to people he is close.

http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/news/crime_checker/baltimore_city_crime/michael-johnson-accused-of-murdering-phylicia-barnes-appears-in-court-for-bail-review
Michael Johnson, accused of murdering Phylicia Barnes, appears in court for bail review
April 27, 2012

ALTIMORE - It is information the family of Phylicia Barnes has waited on for 16 months.  At a bail review hearing for the 28-year-old suspect, Michael Johnson, the state started to show its case.

For the first time, we heard about a storage container they say Johnson bought at Wal-Mart and had difficulty carrying out of the Northwest Baltimore apartment where Phylicia was visiting family.

"I would hope that he would tell exactly what he had in that container, tell his family, tell his family, tell them the truth about what happened to Phylicia Barnes," said Harry Watson, Phylicia Barnes’ cousin.       

The North Carolina teen went missing December 28, 2010, when she was visiting her half-sister, whom Johnson dated for years.  In court, we learned the tub has not been recovered, but a neighbor told investigators he saw Johnson sweating, carrying it out of the apartment.

Johnson's defense calls it a circumstantial case.
 ::snipping2::
Video at Link

This article is out of chronological order, but it has a lot of information. 

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/breaking/bs-md-ci-barnes-arrest-slaying-20120426,0,5594814.story
Sister's ex-boyfriend charged with murder in Phylicia Barnes case
Cause of death remains unclear; defendant maintains innocence
By Justin Fenton & Peter Hermann
April 26, 2012


(2 pgs)

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-04-27/news/bal-secrecy-surrounds-barnes-case-and-arrest-defense-lawyer-says-client-was-hit-by-officers-20120427_1_arrest-warrant-defense-lawyer-cases-in-department-history
Secrecy surrounds Barnes case and arrest
defense lawyer says client was hit by officers
By Peter Hermann
April 27, 2012

The defense attorney for 28-year-old Michael Johnson, charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Phylicia Barnes, told reporters on Thursday that his client had been struck and kicked during his arrest. He disputed a statement from the city's top prosecutor that the arrest went down "without incident."

But trying to track down what actually happened has been a frustrating ordeal, not just on the allegations of mistreatment, but the aura of secrecy surrounding this high-profile case.
 ::snipping2::
Numerous law enforcement offcials are privately upset with Thursday's news conference in which State's Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein spoke -- but revealed precious little information -- and didn't allow city or state police commanders to go to the podium.

He thanked state police for their help, and singled out the state's attorney for Harford County, bud didn't mention city police homicide detectives, who were part of the case from when Phylicia vanished on in December 2010 and were part of one of the most extensive and complex missing person's cases in department history.

Johnson was charged under a grand jury indictment, which is a perfectly acceptable but unusual way to proceed in Maryland. Typically, suspects are charged by police in what are called charging documents -- judicial justification to prove to a judge or court commissioner that there is probable cause for an arrest. Then, prosecutors seek an indictment, moving the case from District to Circuit Court. Getting the indictment first allows prosecutors to bypass the first part, and the case is shrouded in secrecy.

That will change over the course of the next few weeks and months, as the court file fills with discovery, the suspect gets a bail hearing and documents and details start to tumble out. But for now, even the most basic of details -- how Phylicia was killed and where, remain a closely guarded secret.

The indictment itself remains sealed -- the only documents revealed thus far is the arrest warrant, which the suspect's defense attorney handed out to reporters. That documents provides no new information.

Even the location of Johnson's arrest has not been made public. Police decline to comment further because the case is now in the hands of the Baltimore State's Attorney's Office. But Johnson's lawyer, Russell Neverdon, complained on Friday that his client had been roughed up during the arrest.
More...

http://www.digtriad.com/news/article/226986/57/More-Details-Released-In-Phylicia-Barnes-Murder
Phylicia Barnes' Murder Suspect's Michael Johnson Bail Denied
April 28, 2012

Assistant State's Attorney Lisa Goldberg told the judge Friday that Michael Johnson, who is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes, mentioned in emails and texts that he would flee the country if charged. Noting concerns about those messages, Judge John Addison Howard ordered Johnson, Barnes' sister ex-boyfriend, held without bail.

Goldberg says Johnson asphyxiated Barnes in her sister's apartment, then used a 35-gallon tub to move the body. She says he was videotaped buying the tub and a neighbor saw him carrying it.

Johnson has denied the charges and his attorney calls the case circumstantial.
 ::snipping2::
Video at Link

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-04-27/news/bs-md-ci-johnson-phylicia-bail-20120427_1_phylicia-barnes-deena-barnes-attorney-russell-neverdon
Details in Phylicia Barnes murder emerge at hearing
Teen was asphyxiated in apartment, prosecutors say
By Justin Fenton, The Baltimore Sun
April 27, 2012

Prosecutors alleged Friday that the 28-year-old man charged with murdering Phylicia Barnes asphyxiated the teenager in her sister's Northwest Baltimore apartment, and then moved her body using a 35-gallon plastic tub.

Michael Maurice Johnson, the ex-boyfriend of Phylicia's older half-sister, was seen by a neighbor sweating and struggling to move a container from the apartment, Assistant State's Attorney Lisa Goldberg said at a hearing while arguing against bail for Johnson.

(Lots of info in this 2 page article)

Thanks for all the updating Muffybee!

It isn't a surprise to me that they charged the ex-boyfriend.  The phone calls here http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?topic=9225.msg1520864#msg1520864 (http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?topic=9225.msg1520864#msg1520864) are interesting.  Who was on the other end of the line.

And this State's Attorney sounds like a hotdogger http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?topic=9225.msg1520869#msg1520869 (http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?topic=9225.msg1520869#msg1520869), hopefully his apparent need of attention won't get in the way of fact finding and the truth.

If she told her sister he made her uncomfortable, presuming she also told her sister about the texts and phone calls, why did she go there, why was she allowed to visit.  That's probably hindsight and family dynamics come in to play as well.  It's just so sad.

Maybe Phylicia really wanted to visit and neither she nor her half-sister let Janice Sallis (Phylicia's mom) know Phylicia was uncomfortable in regard to Michael. Phylicia's mom Janice Sallis must feel awful for encouraging her to look into the rest of the family. 
Older post:
http://www.wbaltv.com/r/26415292/detail.html
 ::snipping2::
Guglielmi described the apartment building from which Phylicia disappeared as similar to that of a college dorm. Sallis said she would not have let her 16-year-old daughter visit her half-sister in Maryland had she known how she lived.

"I felt deceived," said Sallis of Phylicia's half-sister. "She had visited approximately four times, and each time she visited, I spoke with her half-sister and drilled her to make sure (she knew) the lifestyle that was not allowed, and that encouraged me a lot when I allowed her to go up there, and that was the type of influence I wanted her to have."

Phylicia is an honors student who was on track to graduate from her North Carolina high school.

"I encouraged her to find the Barnes side of her family two years ago because I didn't want her to be like so many people, wondering what her other half was like. I wanted her to be balanced," Sallis told NBC.
The FBI and the Center for Missing and Exploited Children are also involved in the ongoing search.
 ::snipping2::

I was reading through some of the earlier articles in Phylicia's thread and I came across this article dated January 4, 2011.  I snipped the bit about the ex-boyfriend of her half-sister who was "located and interviewed" and is "not cons at suspect or person of interest at this momement".    Interesting.   Now he's been arrested.

http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?topic=9225.msg1285248#msg1285248

http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13782424
Internet tipster offers new locations to search for missing NC teen in Baltimore
Posted: Jan 04, 2011 3:21 PM CST Updated: Jan 05, 2011 5:27 AM CST
MONROE, NC (WBTV) – An internet tipster has offered 3 additional locations for Baltimore Police to search for Phylicia Barnes, the 16 year old girl from Monroe who went missing in Baltimore last week.
 ::snipping2::
Guglielmi told WBTV.com Tuesday night, detectives have located and interviewed the 27 year old ex-boyfriend of Barnes' half-sister. Guglielmi said the man is, "not considered at suspect or person of interest at this moment."
 ::snipping2::

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/breaking/bs-md-ci-barnes-brother-officer-20120429,0,5706326.story?page=1
Phylicia Barnes' brother wants to become city cop
He joins as trainee, set for academy training next week
April 29, 2012

When police and prosecutors gathered in a cramped media room on the ground floor of the Police Department's Fayette Street headquarters to finally announce an arrest in the killing of Phylicia Barnes, the victim's half-brother merely rode down an elevator to watch.

Bryan Barnes, inspired by the detectives who worked relentlessly for 16 months on his sister's case, has joined the Baltimore Police Department as a paid trainee. The 24-year-old already has passed background checks, and is scheduled to start as a cadet in the academy this week.

Barnes said he feels uniquely qualified to help others, after suffering through a 16-month ordeal over a missing relative, including a search that ended tragically when the teen's body was found in the Susquehanna River.


"Since it happened to me, I'm in a better position to stand by a family as time goes on," Barnes said a day after the murder charge was announced Thursday. "It happens every day. Somebody goes missing. Somebody gets killed. I've been through it and I know how the family will feel."

There's still a chance he might change his mind at the last minute, Barnes said, as he's still mulling over the kind of career he wants. He knows it will be something in law enforcement though, and said the time he's spent with city police — both as a grieving relative and a newly minted colleague — has inspired his decision.
 ::snipping2::

He certainly would bring a voice of understanding to families or victims.  Good luck to Bryan Barnes as he starts down his career path.

Indeed he can be an asset.
(http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/oo242/Brandi-Monkey/WEATHER/furby-halo2-1.gif)

http://citypaper.com/news/murder-ink-1.1312279
Murder Ink
Murders this Week: 3; Murders this Year: 65

By Anna Ditkoff
May 9, 2012

The murder of Phylicia Barnes, a 16-year-old African-American female, has been removed from the 2012 homicide tally and placed on the 2011 rolls. The official number of homicides for 2011 is now 197. Barnes was murdered in 2010 but her body was not discovered until 2011. While her death was ruled a homicide in May 2011 it was not added to any homicide count until April of this year when Michael Johnson, a 28-year-old African-American man, was indicted for her murder.

Two murders have also been added to the 2009 homicide total, making that year’s number 240 instead of 238. ::snipping2::

http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/news/region/baltimore_city/chick-fil-a-fundraiser-for-phylicia-barnes-foundation
Chick-Fil-A fundraiser for Phylicia Simone Barnes Foundation
May 17, 2012

If you go to the Chick-Fil-A on Route 40, Thursday, May 17, you can help raise money for the Phylica Barnes foundation.
 ::snipping2::
All the proceeds will go towards the Barnes Foundations mission of raising awareness in cases of missing children.

http://www.wbtv.com/story/17796154/attorney-michael-johnson-assaulted-by-police-during-arrest
Attorney: Michael Johnson assaulted by police during arrest
Posted: Apr 26, 2012 4:18 PM CDT Updated: May 26, 2012 4:18 PM CDT

 ::snipping2::
According to attorney Russell Neverdon, 28-year-old Michael Johnson was punched and tackled by authorities when he was arrested at his house Wednesday night.

Johnson has been charged with first degree murder in the death of 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes who disappeared while visiting family in Baltimore in December 2010.  The Union County honor student's body was found in a Maryland river nearly four months later.

Neverdon told WBTV via phone on Thursday evening that Johnson was arrested around 11:10 p.m. Wednesday night at his home.

Johnson was outside of his home, getting into his vehicle to go to work, when Neverdon says multiple unmarked vehicles pulled up to the home and people ran out of the vehicles towards Johnson.

Johnson, according to his attorney, did not know the people were law enforcement officers and believed he was being carjacked or attacked.

"Instinctively, he thought somebody was about to 'rob me, carjack me' or something but this wasn't a good look," Neverdon told WBTV. "He attempted to run away from the car and thought 'if they want the car, they can just take the car'."

As he was running, Johnson noticed one of the men was wearing gear identifying him as law enforcement and began to slow down, Neverdon told WBTV.  That's when Johnson was punched in the eye by one person and was tackled by another.
 ::snipping2::
Baltimore Police said during a press conference on Thursday afternoon that there were no incidents during Johnson's arrest.

Johnson is currently being held at the Baltimore City Jail without bond.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Suspect-in-Phylicia-Barnes-Killing-Pleads-Not-Guilty-159797575.html


Suspect in Phylicia Barnes's Death Pleads Not Guilty

Attorney says he's seen no evidence linking Johnson to girl's death


By Monique Hayes

 |  Wednesday, Jun 20, 2012  |  Updated 9:11 PM EDT




A Maryland man accused of killing a North Carolina teen pleaded not guilty to murder.

Michael Johnson appeared in a Baltimore court yesterday. He is accused of suffocating Phylicia Barnes and then dumping her body.
 ::snipping2::

A 16-month investigation led to Johnson's arrest. Prosecutors said he killed the girl in her half-sister's apartment and used a 35-gallon tub to move the body.

His lawyer said Johnson was targeted by prosecutors because he was the last to see her alive, the AP reported. He said he hasn't seen evidence linking Johnson to the crime.

A trial date was set for Aug. 13.

 ::MonkeyEek::

How on earth did they keep this so close to the vest?  And in Baltimore Maryland no less.


http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2012/12/29/sex-tape-at-phylicia-barnes-trial-could-be-game-changer/

snipped;

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A shocking twist in the case of a murdered teen found floating in the Susquehanna River. Prosecutors say they will use a video showing the victim engaging in sex acts with her accused killer.
 
As Gigi Barnett explains, defense attorneys say the tape could possibly help their case, too.
 
Electronic billboards flashed 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes’ name and face across the state.
 
Four months after her disappearance, investigators found the teen’s naked body floating in the Susquehanna River. Police have since charged Phylicia’s sister’s ex-boyfriend, 28-year-old Michael Johnson, with the murder.
 
Now, a shocking twist in the case: court documents say prosecutors plan to play a cell phone video of the honor student intoxicated and engaging in sexual relations with Johnson, his younger brother and Phylicia’s sister, Deena Barnes.
“This, of course is a game changer. So we have to look at it from that standpoint,” said Russell Neverdon, Johnson’s defense attorney.
 
Neverdon said his office knew about the sex tape. But the 16 minute, 31 second video was recorded and stored on Deena Barnes’ cell phone, and that changes their strategy.

“The problem is that in Maryland, we do have some statutory regulations that say certain people of certain ages cannot indulge in certain activity, particularly in the presence of someone who is supervising them,” said Neverdon.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Sounds to me like they knew the who and how all along they just needed to work out the charges first...

The sister should be charged with a sex crime regardless of whether or not it was her half sister...she was 16.  This is complete BS no matter how I look at it but I am glad to finally see some truth coming out. 

 ::crymonkey2::

fatcat, you are so right!
My goodness, I wonder how the Mom feels?
 ::crymonkey2::

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-01-08/news/bs-md-ci-phylicia-barnes-pretrial-20130108_1_daniel-nicholson-iv-phylicia-barnes-detective-nicholson
Phylicia Barnes sex tape may be played publicly at murder trial
January 8, 2013

If Baltimore prosecutors want to show jurors a video of teenage murder victim Phylicia Barnes and the man accused of killing her engaged in "sexual relations," they must do so in open court, a city judge has ruled.

The ruling, which denied a prosecution motion to close the court during the playing of the tape, came last week after one of three unlisted hearings, but appears in documents available at Baltimore Circuit Court. A public schedule had said a hearing would be held Tuesday.



It is not clear why prosecutors want to show the tape, or whether they still plan to show it following the ruling. Judge Alfred Nance has imposed a gag order prohibiting attorneys from discussing the case.

Michael Maurice Johnson, 28, the ex-boyfriend of Barnes' older half-sister, is scheduled to stand trial later this month for the North Carolina teenager's killing. Jury selection is slated to begin Jan. 22.

Prosecutors have said that Johnson killed Barnes and moved her body in a plastic tub. Barnes was 16 when she disappeared in December 2010, in her sister's Northwest Baltimore apartment. Her nude body was found floating in the Susquehanna River in April 2011, and Johnson was charged a year later.

The Baltimore Sun first reported last month that the video, according to prosecutors, also depicts Barnes' older sister Deena and Johnson's younger brother. It was allegedly found on Deena's cell phone.

Prosecutors said they planned to play the tape during Deena's testimony and wanted to close the courtroom, because two of the people on the tape are minors. But defense attorneys were opposed. WBAL-TV first reported that Nance denied the request.

That ruling came after one of the three unlisted hearings, which occurred Thursday, Friday and Monday. Prosecutors and defense attorneys say they are prohibited from talking about the case because of the gag order, though there was no record of such an order's being imposed.
More...

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-01-21/news/bs-md-ci-barnes-trial-starts-20130121_1_deena-barnes-phylicia-barnes-case-michael-maurice-johnson
Trial in Phylicia Barnes case set to start
Two years after teen vanished, alleged killer faces jury
January 21, 2013

Michael Maurice Johnson is scheduled to stand trial starting Tuesday in the death of North Carolina teenager Phylicia Barnes, with court proceedings that could include prosecutors playing a sex video and defense attorneys revealing details from an internal affairs investigation of the lead detective in the case.
 ::snipping2::
Johnson, 28, was indicted on a single first-degree murder count in April 2012. Prosecutors said at a bail hearing that he asphyxiated Barnes in Deena Barnes' apartment and moved her body in a 35-gallon plastic tub. Johnson has maintained his innocence.

Since that hearing, prosecutors have been tight-lipped about the case. A gag order has been issued, so the lawyers involved cannot comment.

Several twists and turns are possible at trial, including more details about accusations that the lead detective went to improper lengths when his own daughter went missing, a video that prosecutors say depicts Barnes, Johnson and two other people engaged in "sexual relations," and a possible defense witness who allegedly saw Barnes in another county after she had been reported missing.

A judge gave the go-ahead earlier this month for prosecutors to show the sex video but said it must be played in open court. It is not clear how prosecutors will use the video in the case.

Barnes' mother, Janice Mustafa, had accused Deena Barnes of condoning alcohol use and allowing men to drop by her apartment. And prosecutors said at the bail hearing last year that Barnes told a relative Johnson made her feel "uncomfortable."
 ::snipping2::
Gov. Martin O'Malley signed a bill named after Phylicia Barnes into law in the weeks after Johnson's arrest, requiring state authorities to publish lists of missing children and annual statistics.

An estimated 13,500 children are reported missing on average each year in Maryland, according to state police. In that context, the trial is important, Rondeau said, but there is more work to be done.

 ::snipping2::

http://www.journalnow.com/news/state_region/article_153ea59a-64a1-11e2-b8ff-0019bb30f31a.html
Md. man facing trial for death of Monroe teen, Phylicia Barnes
January 22, 2013

http://www.wbaltv.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/Jury-set-in-Michael-Johnson-trial-Pretrial-motions-begin/-/10131532/18261858/-/bnw04dz/-/index.html
Jury set in Michael Johnson trial; Pretrial motions begin
Johnson accused in death of 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes
January 24, 2013

BALTIMORE —A jury has been selected in the trial of Michael Johnson, the man accused of killing North Carolina teenager Phylicia Barnes in December 2010, and lawyers are arguing a few more motions before opening statements Friday.
The jury, made up of 12 people and a few alternates, was picked around 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Johnson, 28, is accused of killing the 16-year-old Barnes while she was visiting family in Baltimore. Johnson was arrested in April 2012 and charged with murder.

During pretrial motions in court on Thursday, defense attorneys tried to have the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office removed from the case. The attorneys argued that the office committed prosecutorial misconduct by not charging the lead detective, Daniel Nicholson, when he was suspended last year on charges that he misused police resources to go into an apartment and search for his own missing daughter, who was later located unharmed.

However, the judge said prosecutors have wide discretion when determining who and when to charge someone, so he denied the motion.

 ::snipping2::

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2013/01/25/opening-statements-to-begin-in-phylicia-barnes-murder-case/
Witness Says Defendant Showed Him Barnes’ Body & Asked For Ways To Dispose Of It
January 25, 2013

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Opening statements began Friday in the trial of a man charged with killing honors student Phylicia Barnes.

Alex DeMetrick has details of the trial’s first day.

Both sides laid out their strategy in opening statements in this murder trial.

North Carolina resident Phylicia Barnes was visiting her older sister Deena Barnes in Baltimore in December 2010 when she vanished. A major search was launched, ending four months later when her nude body was found in the Susquehanna River.

In opening statements in court, the prosecution linked that disappearance and death to 18-year-old Michael Johnson, Deena Barnes’ former boyfriend.

The jury will see evidence that includes hundreds of calls and text messages between Johnson and Phylicia Barnes, a sex video of Deena Barnes and Johnson, as well as one of Phylicia and Johnson’s brother.
More...

Video at link

http://www.digtriad.com/news/article/265407/57/Opening-Statements-Made-In-Phylicia-Barnes-Trial
Opening Statements Made In Phylicia Barnes Trial
January 25, 2013

Baltimore, MD -- Prosecutors in the murder trial of a Baltimore man accused of killing a North Carolina teenager said in opening statements they have a witness who says he saw the young woman's body.

Defense lawyers for 28-year-old Michael Maurice Johnson, who is accused of killing 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes, dismissed the potential witness as a jailhouse snitch.
 ::snipping2::
Prosecutors say Johnson killed Barnes in her sister's apartment and then used a 35-gallon tub to move the body. Johnson's lawyers have said there is no DNA evidence linking him to the crime.
 ::snipping2::

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-01-25/news/bs-md-ci-phylicia-trial-day-four-20130125_1_michael-maurice-johnson-deena-barnes-phylicia-barnes
Tape shows accused killer's desire for Barnes, prosecution says
State also says it has a witness that saw Phylicia Barnes' body
January 25, 2013

(2 pgs)

Baltimore prosecutors said Friday that a sexually charged video depicting teenager Phylicia Barnes and the man accused of killing her shows a turning point in the relationship that ultimately led to her death.

Assistant State's Attorney Lisa Goldberg also said in opening statements that a witness will testify that defendant Michael Maurice Johnson showed him Barnes' body after she died, in a plea for help. Defense lawyers said that witness is unreliable and shows that the state has a weak case.



Barnes had connected over social media with her long-lost half sisters and they quickly became close, Goldberg said. But one of those sisters, Deena Barnes, saw her more as an adult girlfriend than a little sister and, during her trips from her home in North Carolina to Baltimore, allowed her to drink alcohol.

On one such night, Phylicia Barnes and Johnson, Deena Barnes' boyfriend of 10 years, took off their clothes and streaked around an apartment complex. Then the three of them, along with two of Johnson's brothers, went to a nearby school, where they engaged in "naked touching and kissing," Goldberg said. It was all recorded on video.

Goldberg said the video, which prosecutors plan to play for the jury during the trial, shows Johnson touching Deena — but as he does so, he is looking at Phylicia.
More...

Maybe the sister killed her in a jealous rage? If I was the defense, I might look at that angle..

The secrets they all kept while this poor girls body was floating in the water. And her parents were tortured all that time...very sad

I hadn't checked in on this one in a while...so sad.    ::MonkeyTears::

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-01-28/news/bs-md-ci-barnes-trial-day-five-20130128_1_michael-maurice-johnson-phylicia-barnes-johnson-and-phylicia

Tearful Deena Barnes describes day Phylicia went missing
Prosecution questions older sister of murder victim in trial of Michael Maurice Johnson

(http://www.trbimg.com/img-5103421b/turbine/bs-md-phylicia-barnes.jpg-20121218/396/396x246)
Phylicia Simone Barnes (Baltimore Sun )

January 28, 2013|By Justin Fenton, The Baltimore Sun

The older sister of Phylicia Barnes tearfully said Monday she had allowed her teenage sister to drift too close to the man now accused of murdering her, testifying in the trial of Michael Maurice Johnson that the then-26-year-old's unnerving conduct one summer night was the final blow to their relationship.

Prosecutors played for the jurors a 16-minute video they said depicted Deena Barnes and Johnson, along with Phylicia and Johnson's younger brother Glenton Michael Johnson kissing and "nakedly" touching after leaving a June 2010 party on a dare that they go streaking together.

Barnes dabbed her eyes with a tissue, acknowledging that her teenage sister, on that night and others, became intoxicated, smoked marijuana and spent the night in the same room with boys.

"What were you thinking at the time?" asked Assistant State's Attorney Lisa Goldberg.

"I wasn't," said Barnes, her voice lowered and a swoop of hair covering her right eye.

Barnes said Johnson once made a pass at her 16-year-old sister. She described trouble reaching him on the day Phylicia went missing, but was not asked for any insight into how Phylicia died. The prosecution has described an inappropriate relationship between Johnson and Phylicia but has not offered a motive.

Johnson is facing one count of first-degree murder in the death of Phylicia, who, while visiting from North Carolina, vanished from her sister's Northwest Baltimore apartment on Dec. 28, 2010. Johnson was the last person known to have seen her alive. Her nude body was found four months later in the Susquehanna River.

 ::snipping2::

Barnes testified that she later saw Phylicia and Michael Johnson together in her apartment's bathroom, with Johnson tending to the girl's knee. From the bedroom, Barnes said, she saw Johnson reach for the girl's genitals. She laughed and pushed his hand away, said Barnes, who testified that she was disturbed by the interaction and confronted Johnson about it.

"I asked him, did he just try to touch my sister. He said no," Barnes testified. She asked him again, then asked Phylicia about it.

Barnes said she considered calling their father, but worried that he might forbid his daughters to spend time together.

"I was scared," she testified. "Scared of not being able to see Phylicia anymore. … I thought she wouldn't be able to come around anymore."

 ::snipping2::

"She was a beautiful person — bubbly, funny, smart, loving and caring," Barnes testified. Despite their 11-year age difference, she described Phylicia as "my best friend."

That friendship developed amid Barnes' troubled relationship with Johnson, her live-in boyfriend, whom she had been dating for 10 years. Their relationship was "rocky," and Barnes said she lost several friends because they didn't approve.

 ::MonkeyNoNo::

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bs-md-johnson-charges-dropped-20150120-story.html#page=1

Judge drops all charges against Michael Johnson

By Justin Fenton
The Baltimore Sun


A Baltimore judge has dismissed charges against the man accused in the late 2010 disappearance and death of 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes, setting free the only suspect in a case that drew national attention but has been criticized as flimsy.

Michael Maurice Johnson, 30, has been jailed since 2012 and was convicted of second-degree murder a year later in the teen's death. Piecing together what they described as "circumstantial evidence," prosecutors alleged that Johnson developed a questionable relationship with the teen — the younger half-sister of his longtime girlfriend — then killed her and dumped her body in the Susquehanna River.

Previously, Judge Alfred J. Nance, who overturned Johnson's 2013 conviction, had expressed "great concern" over the evidence in the case. On Tuesday, Judge John Addison Howard, who declared a mistrial at a second trial last month, ruled that prosecutors had presented insufficient evidence.

Howard's decision, delivered in a brief statement, led to Johnson's release Tuesday evening from the Baltimore City Detention Center.

"Michael Johnson has maintained his innocence from day one," said Katy O'Donnell, one of two attorneys from the public defender's office who represented Johnson. "We absolutely, firmly believe the court did the right thing and justice was done."

Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby said in a statement that Howard had "no jurisdiction to grant the acquittal" and vowed to appeal.

The decision was the latest twist in a case that saw a conviction overturned, a key witness discredited and, just last month, a mistrial because of prosecutorial error.

Phylicia's father, Russell Barnes, said the judicial system let his daughter down. He said the process seemed to be in Johnson's favor and that important evidence was never admitted.

"In my mind, the city of Baltimore has let a child predator go," Barnes said. "We still want justice for Phylicia."

Johnson's mother, Rhonda Mullins, was present in the courtroom Tuesday and called the case a "nightmare" for her family. Mullins, a retired city police officer, said her son's acquittal was "wonderful news."

At Tuesday's hearing, Assistant State's Attorney Lisa Goldberg told the judge that all available evidence pointed to Johnson.

"We don't have a motive," Goldberg told Howard. "We don't need a motive. ... There is no boogeyman out there who took Phylicia Barnes. The circumstances point back to the defendant."

 ::snipping3::

During both trials, prosecutors told jurors they believed Johnson had developed an inappropriate relationship with the teen, whom he called "lil' sis." They pointed to hundreds of text messages exchanged in the six months before her disappearance, though the content of the messages was never disclosed.

At a party in June 2010, prosecutors said, he and the girl went streaking and then, along with Johnson's younger brother and Phylicia's half-sister Deena Barnes, went to a field where a fifth person filmed the four engaged in "naked touching." That video was played for jurors at both trials, with prosecutors theorizing that it represented a turn in the brother-sister-like relationship.


Meanwhile, Johnson's 10-year relationship with Deena Barnes had been crumbling, according to prosecutors. Johnson had said that on the morning of the girl's disappearance, he had gone to Deena's apartment to gather some belongings to move out, and later called out of work.

"We have a defendant who just per chance takes the day off from work," Goldberg said Tuesday. "We have all these things that make you go 'hmm.'"

A neighbor said he saw Johnson struggling to move a plastic storage container out of the apartment, and prosecutors alleged that Phylicia's body was inside. Goldberg said Johnson showed little interest upon hearing the news that the girl was missing.

Defense attorneys said Johnson was cooperative with police and offered to help in the search until he was asked to stay away. Cellphone records that trace his movements did not show him anywhere near the Susquehanna in Harford County, where the teen's body was found in April 2011.

Investigators tapped Johnson's phone for two months, during which he discussed the case and speculated about police tactics, as well as fleeing the country. But he did not admit to the crime.

Johnson was indicted by a grand jury on charges of first-degree murder in April 2012.

 ::snipping3::

During the second trial, prosecutors played a wiretapped phone call between Johnson and one of his brothers. Howard ordered part of the tape redacted, and after a recess prosecutors said they had properly edited it. But when it was played, jurors again heard the portion Howard had ordered removed.

Howard, who said he did not believe the mistake was intentional, declared a mistrial Dec. 22.

Five jurors interviewed after the mistrial told The Baltimore Sun they would have voted to acquit Johnson based on the state's case. "The evidence wasn't there at all, to me," said juror Audra Agnelly.

In court Tuesday, O'Donnell and fellow defense attorney Kaye Beehler said they believed the failure to redact the tapes was intentional. Beehler alleged that the state made the error in hopes of prompting a new trial because prosecutors sensed the current one was "going down the tubes."

Goldberg called the allegation "ludicrous."

Beehler said prosecutors could not even prove that a crime had been committed or, if one had been, what state it occurred in. The Susquehanna River flows through New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

"There was insufficient evidence of where she died, how she died, and what manner she died," Beehler said.

Howard called the prosecution's case against Johnson "unarguably circumstantial" and said while it was intriguing, it contained "no direct evidence" linking him to Phylicia Barnes' death.

"There was 'no smoking gun' in this case," Howard wrote.

 ::MonkeyNoNo:: 

 ::MonkeyTears::