Sarah Townsend,18, NJ Missing

[Duchess]

All our local news have put this on their front page.

NBC10.com
wpvi.com
cbs3.com

[ZEROSPHERES]

What a waste to have bought two new dresses and not gotten a chance to at least wear one.

Decisions, Decisions, Fiddle-dee-dee, but I'll not think of that today.

[LytoMe]

Awww the poor thing was found, dead in the Burlington Pond.

[LytoMe]

Authorities with the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office have confirmed that the body pulled out of Sherman's Pond is that is Sarah Townsend, the 18-year-old Allentown High School senior who's been missing since Monday.

Sarah Townsend, 18, of Florence and a senior at Allentown High School, was found dead today in a pond near where her car was discovered abandoned on Monday.

Townsend's car was found abandoned about 150 yards from the pond in Burlington Township's Green Acres Park Monday morning.

Four tracking dogs searching the park for Townsend picked up on a scent today at 1:15 p.m. and led investigators to the side of the pond opposite the parking lot where Townsend's car was found, Lt. Bruce Painter with the Burlington Township Police Department said.

Investigators found Townsend's body submerged, though it was not weighted down, Painter said.

Police on Thursday said they believed Townsend, of Florence, may have been considering harming herself prior to her disappearance, but no information has yet been made available today about the cause of death.

Authorities are awaiting the results of an autopsy.

Townsend was reported missing by her boyfriend, Matt Welsh, at about 10 a.m. Monday morning and he found the car in the Burlington Township Park. Police have repeatedly said Welsh was not a suspect in Townsend's disappearance.

Townsend's disappearance had resulted in a massive search in the Green Acres Park over the last week. Divers had previously checked the pond, but did not locate anything.

Townsend's parents held candlelight vigils this week at the park and pleaded for their daughter's safe return. Thousands of people joined Facebook pages dedicated to locating Townsend.

[Lady Cop]

i am REALLY going to be interested in cause and manner of death. i hope it isn't kept a fucking state secret.

and that bunch of 'tards at HLN "news" were still reporting her missing, not found, 30 minutes after news broke. they are pathetic. and that is typical of them, always a day late and dollar short. some "news" channel, and they are owned by CNN!


On Friday, WPVI-TV in Philadelphia reported that the boyfriend, identified as Matt Welsh, had to be wrestled to the ground to be subdued on the banks of the pond. Officers led him from the area where Townsend's body was found.

"We're going to take him to the station to make sure he's OK. That's our main concern," Burlington Township Police Lt. Bruce Painter told the television station.

Matt--->

[Lady Cop]

it had to be very difficult to drown herself in a pond. it's a natural, almost involuntary instinct to fight for breath.


"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.

"The final autopsy determination is pending the results of toxicology tests, which will take several weeks," the statement said.

[Duchess]

The news is reporting that she called her boyfriend to meet her there & when he arrived she wasn't there but a note was found saying, "I'm sorry".

I don't think for a moment that he had anything to do with her death...of course, I'm not nearly as suspicious as many of you are.

[melissab]

Why weren't the dogs brought in sooner? As a parent I think I would demand a scent dog search being my childs car was sitting there with the door open and a supposed "I'm sorry" note. I would be sick knowing she was in the pond the whole time I was there at a vigil for her. Too damn weird. Saw the pic of the BF and thought it was a girl...they have matching hair. Poss in the pond right near the car from Mon to Fri...

[LytoMe]

Why weren't the dogs brought in sooner? As a parent I think I would demand a scent dog search being my childs car was sitting there with the door open and a supposed "I'm sorry" note. I would be sick knowing she was in the pond the whole time I was there at a vigil for her. Too damn weird. Saw the pic of the BF and thought it was a girl...they have matching hair. Poss in the pond right near the car from Mon to Fri...

What I have heard is that the dogs were brought in immediately. They had her scent, they went around the pond. They stated they did a search of the pond and found nothing prior. This would have been the second time the dogs were brought out to the pond. And the second time the pond was search. BUT PLEASE KEEP IN MIND, this is all SECOND hand information for law enforcement that helped with the search.
I still have my questions about how she died, like what LC said, drowning yourself is very difficult to do…your body has a natural reaction to fight to breathe, unless she was under the influence.