The body of North Carolina teen Phylicia Barnes was discovered about 35 miles from Baltimore on Wednesday, where she went missing late December. She and an unidentified male were pulled from the Susquehanna River, although no connection is yet known between the two.
According to reports, Conowingo Dam workers spotted her body floating in the water around 7:30 Wednesday morning. A few hours later, while investigators were still in the area, the second body was found floating a few miles south of the dam. Maryland State Police soon hope to have preliminary results from an autopsy.
A Facebook page, Pray for Phylicia Barnes, was created shortly after police announced the discovery. Phylicia’s friends and family had raised over $35,000 in reward money for information leading to her safe return. Her family declined to comment on the identification of the body.
In a previous interview when asked what she would say to the person responsible for the abduction, Phylicia’s mother, Janice Sallis, said: “God is gonna get you. It would be easier for you to turn yourself in and let the law enforcement deal with you because if God has to deal with you, the law enforcement punishment is going to match up so if you discretely just let her go, we can deal with everything else after. But let…her…go.
Although her case didn’t receive as much attention as other missing teens, most notably Natalee Holloway, her mother said in January, “My daughter is not the only child that’s missing. Other children need their time, too. I appreciate all that has been done for her and us thus far, and it’s quality, not quantity, that’s important to me.”
Our thoughts and prayers are with Phylicia’s family and friends.