The search for 16-year-old honor student Phylicia Barnes came to a tragic end when police found her body in the Susquehanna River. The teen had been missing since December 28 when she disappeared from her half-sister’s Northwest Baltimore apartment complex. She had come from Monroe, N.C., to visit for the holidays.
Within hours of finding Barnes’ body, the body of an African American male was located in the same river about a mile away. Although police are not positive, they do not believe the two discoveries are related.
The search for Barnes had few leads, and the Baltimore Police Department conducted its most extensive search in years. Sadly, this story would have no happy ending, and there still appears to be no leads in the case.
The police commissioner, however, believes that the discovery of her body will ultimately lead to the discovery of the killer.
“We’re at stage one of a new phase of the investigation,” said Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III. “Finding her body is really going to be instrumental in giving us an opportunity to bring closure to the family. … It gives investigators a real opportunity.”
The opportunity of which Bealefeld speaks is one that will finally provide closure for the family. Bringing the killer to justice, however, can’t undo the hurt of this painful loss. But what it can do is bring them one step closer to moving on with their lives. –djr
