Sarah Townsend -- Found Deceased

BURLINGTON TWP –Sarah Townsend, the 18-year-old Florence girl who went missing on Monday, remains the subject of police searches in Burlington County today and her family is pleading for her safe return.
Townsend was last seen Monday at 7 a.m. when she left for Allentown High School, which she attends because her father is a district employee. Her car was found three hours later by her boyfriend in Green Acres Park in Burlington Township, police said.
Police continue to treat the case as a missing person's investigation and said today that Townsend's boyfriend is not a suspect in her disappearance.
Read more:
http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2011/05/florence_twp_18-year-old_still.html


http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-504083_162-10007712.html?tag=galleryscroller

New Jersey cops hunting for Sarah Townsend, 18; vanished on way to school, empty car found

BY PHILIP CAULFIELD
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Wednesday, May 11th 2011, 2:44 PM

A massive search party of nearly 100 cops and volunteers is scouring western New Jersey for an 18-year-old girl who mysteriously vanished on her way to school.

Cops said they have few leads in the disappearance of Sarah Townsend, a senior at Allentown High School who hasn't been seen since early Monday morning.

The teen's boyfriend, Matt Welsh, reported her missing after she didn't show up to school and he found her empty car near a pond in a remote park where they used to hang out.

The car was unlocked, and Townsend's wallet and cell phone were inside, cops said.

"What is so baffling there was no blood in the car or drag marks outside," Burlington Township Police Lt. Bruce Painter told The Philadelphia Inquirer. "It could be as simple as she walked away. But we just don't know."



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/05/11/2011-05-11_new_jersey_cops_hunting_for_sarah_townsend_18_boyfriend_found_missing_teens_car_.html#ixzz1M4nTsuIy

Friends of Sarah Townsend take search into their own hands

Published: Wednesday, May 11, 2011
by Joe D'Aquila
Journal Register News Service

BURLINGTON TWP. -- Police have called off their physical search of the area where Sarah Townsend was last known to be, but her friends are gathering today to see if they can find some clue to her disappearance that may have been missed.

The case has now been classified as a missing persons case, with Township detectives trying to track down the 18-year-old's whereabouts through interviews and other means of intelligence gathering.

Her friends, however, aren't giving up the search of Green Acres Park, where Townsend's car was discovered Monday morning near Sherman's Pond, while thousands have joined an online group dedicated to finding her.

"We're going to be gathering at the park to go through it and see if we can find more clues about what happened," said Townsend firend Darie Puica in a Facebook message this morning. "Also we're going to try to go from door to door handing out fliers and asking if they've seen Sarah. Hopefully we will find something that can lead us to her."

Read more:
http://www.southjerseylocalnews.com/articles/2011/05/11/region/doc4dcad9fe9c52d145326147.txt

I don't think she just walked away. Her boyfriend knew where to look for her, that could mean something and may not mean anything. I hope she's found safe!

Estee just posted that Sarah's body has been found.

May 13, 2011 3:48 PM
Body of missing N.J. teen Sarah Townsend believed found, says official

(CBS/KYW/AP) BURLINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. - The week-long search for a missing Burlington County teenager came to an end Friday afternoon when a body was discovered in a park police were searching.

Burlington County Public Safety Directory Walter Corter says canine tracking dogs were out in force searching for 18-year-old Sarah Townsend when they picked up a scent in Green Acres III Park. The dogs led police back to the pond they had searched earlier in the week, reports CBS station KYW.

Corter says during their search of the pond at about 1:15 p.m. they found a body believed to be that of Sarah Townsend.

A desperate search to find Sarah had been underway since Monday morning when her car was found in the park with the engine running and the driver's door open.

On Thursday Laurie Townsend made an emotional plea for her daughter's safe return.
"In my heart, I feel somebody knows something or somebody saw something and they need to step up," she said.

Officials have stated they do not suspect foul play, but Corter says they were concerned from the very beginning that she may try to harm herself.

Read full story:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20062681-504083.html

Body of Missing New Jersey Teenager Sarah Townsend Found in Pond
Published May 13, 2011 | FoxNews.com

DEVELOPING: Police have found the body of missing New Jersey teenager Sarah Townsend, who disappeared almost a week ago, prosecutors said Friday.
Authorities found Townsend's body at approximately 1:15 p.m. Friday in Green Acres III Park in Burlingtown Township. Burlington County Prosecutor Robert Bernardi said canine tracking teams led police back to the pond they'd searched earlier in the week.
An autopsy is expected to determine a cause of death.
"Because the investigation into Sarah's death is continuing, no further information will be released at this time," the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/05/13/report-police-body-believed-missing-teen-sarah-townsend/#ixzz1MGmiCj00

Missing New Jersey Teen Sarah Townsend Found Dead

By JESSICA HOPPER
May 13, 2011
New Jersey authorities found missing New Jersey teen Sarah Townsend's body in a pond this afternoon.

The body was found in Sherman's Pond at Green Acres Park in Burlington Township. The pond is near where Sarah's running car had been found Monday.

Officials told ABC affiliate WPVI that a canine unit led authorities to Sarah's body and that her family has been notified.

Authorities believe that Sarah, 18, may have wanted to harm herself because of a note that was found in her car.

There was an indication that this young lady, Sarah Townsend, was possibly going to harm herself," Burlington Township Police Director Walter Corter said Thursday.

On Thursday, Sarah's family denied those claims.

"Sarah was planning on going to two proms. She bought her dress and was talking about how she was going to do her hair. That's somebody that was planning on something," said Laurie Townsend, Sarah's mother.

When Sarah left for school Monday morning, the family said she seemed fine.

"She put her shoes on and said, 'Bye, Mom and Dad, love you,' and was out the door rushing to school and she hasn't been seen since," Laurie said Thursday.

Read more:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/missing-jersey-teen-sarah-townsend-found-dead-pond/story?id=13599609

Do they really think she planned to harm herself? That just doesn't seem right to me....how very sad.

Aw, that's sad. I hope they find out what happened to her.

Totally agree Piper. If you were going to harm yourself, why did you leave the car door open and the car running?! How did the boyfriend know where she was going to be?

Florence teen Sarah Townsend's death is ruled drowning with no sign of foul play, police say

Published: Friday, May 13, 2011, 11:01 PM
Updated: Saturday, May 14, 2011, 8:05 AM

~Snipped~

There were no signs of trauma to her body and no indications that foul play contributed to her death, concluded Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood, who performed the autopsy," according to a statement released tonight by Burlington County Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi and Burlington Township Public Safety Director Walter J. Corter
Read more:
http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2011/05/florence_teen_sarah_townsend_l.html

So tragic, my heart goes out to her family.

I still find it is under very odd circumstances. You're right Linden, leaving the car running and door open. It would be difficult to drown yourself and who would go swimming in a cold pond early in the morning. The pond is very shallow. Just doesn't add up even though they are saying she was possibly suicidal.


Another article:
http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2011/05/sarah_townsend_florence_teen_d.html

It is odd Piper. It seems like drowning would be on the bottom of the list of ways somebody would want to commit suicide.

It is so difficult to drown yourself. It is not like she can force herself under, right? This is not sitting right with me at all, regardless of the coroner's findings.

Makes me wonder if someone forced her to write a suicide note?

I gotta admit, the bf's knowledge of where her car was does sound suspicious...Perhaps he just saw it on his way to school, or she was gonna pick him up there...Another whodunit for our inquiring minds...

That's why I didn't feel right incriminating him at first. It could have been their make-out or party spot and that's why he checked it.

I don't want to incriminate him without more information, but they need to do more digging before ruling her death a suicide.

Oh definitely! The suicide just makes no sense to me...

I think there had to have been an argument or something. There is a reason he knew where to find her. If he wasn't there when it happened, then she had to have told him something which tipped him off.

"Corter two days ago told Channel 6 News, “There’s an indication ... that she might want to harm herself,” after it was reported that she’d left a note behind saying, “I’m sorry.”

The vehicle was running with its door open, and Sarah’s purse and cellphone left inside.

Her boyfriend was to meet her that day at the pond. He discovered her empty car instead.

And yesterday when the lad appeared at the pond located in the Green Acres Park, and was told that Sarah had been found at 1:15 p.m., and that she was dead, he became hysterical with weeping grief and had to be wrestled down by police officers."

http://www.southjerseylocalnews.com/articles/2011/05/16/region/doc4dd1267e835bf955432042.txt

I'm still struggling with the fact that she was not weighted down and still drowned herself. That is definitely not the easiest route to commit suicide.

Could the 'I'm Sorry' note have been meant as an apology to the boyfriend for an argument? I thought in the beginning they were saying that he went looking for her when she didn't show up for school and now it says that he was meant to meet her there.

Do you really make arrangements for people to come witness you commit suicide. It's not usually a rash decision and leaving the car running leads me to believe that this was not planned out. But holding your head under the water long enough to drown.... that's takes effort and determination.

There is still something really hinky about this.

Agree, Linden..........still makes no sense to me at all!