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Thread: Sarah Townsend

  1. #1
    GuiltyLittleDeathHag Guest

    Sarah Townsend

    I hope there's not already a thread on this one, but I couldn't find one.

    I was watching the search for this girl when she was still missing. When they found her drowned in a pond, it's always bothered me for some reason. What do you think, suicide, accident, or murder?

    I lean towards suicide, but drowning yourself is such an odd way to do it, and her leaving her car running etc.? I do know of people who have killed themselves that way though. So who knows...Either way, very sad. She was a really cute kid.

    Missing New Jersey Teen Found Dead In Pond


    â?? Sat May 14, 3:51 pm ET
    BURLINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. -- The body of a missing teenager was found Friday in a pond near where her car was discovered abandoned four days earlier and an autopsy determined that she had drowned.
    The body of 18-year-old Sarah Townsend had no signs of trauma, and there was no indication that foul play contributed to her death, Burlington County Prosecutor Robert Bernardi said.
    Results of toxicology tests are needed before a final autopsy report is issued, he said. That could take several weeks.
    Townsend was last seen Monday morning, when she left her family's home in Florence to go to Allentown High School.
    Townsend's boyfriend told authorities that he found her car at the park â?? a place he said they often spent time â?? hours later. A door was open and the engine was running. Her cellphone and purse were left inside.
    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.
    Bernardi said canine tracking teams led police back to the pond they'd searched earlier in the week.
    On Wednesday, Burlington Township Police Director Walter Corter said police were told Townsend may have wanted to harm herself.
    However, her parents told the Courier-Post of Cherry Hill that their daughter was happy when she left their home on Monday. They said she was getting ready to attend two proms and was working on coordinating her hairdo and dress for each.
    A woman who answered the phone at her family's home Friday afternoon tearfully said she couldn't talk.
    Misty Smalley, a former co-worker of Townsend's, told WPVI that she was saddened by the news that a body had been found. "It's a shame, I feel very sorry for (Townsend's family)," Smalley said. "She was a very pretty girl, very quiet."
    Friends and other teens who didn't know her combed the area where Townsend was eventually found.
    They have also been holding nightly candlelight vigils for her.

  2. #2
    Flowergrrl Guest


    She was pretty. It's a shame, what an odd set of circumstances. The car was found running?... Do you think she accidentally fell in? Her mother is claiming she appeared happy when she left that morning.

  3. #3
    Frazzzld Kat Guest
    I don't know, something isn't right about this one. Why would she leave her car running with her purse inside and the door open? That is, if the boyfriend is being honest. It sounds like he is because they aren't treating him like a suspect. I don't feel it was suicide since no one has said anything about her behavior leading up to this. I think it is either foul play or accidental but I still don't understand whey she would leave her car the way she did. My mind keeps thinking that someone got her to stop and then yanked her out of the car. But that is just speculation on my part. I agree though, she was very pretty.

  4. #4
    Flowergrrl Guest
    ... 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.
    I agree Frazzzld, this^^ and the fact he knew where the car was... All sound very suspicious to me.

  5. #5
    babyblujems Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Flowergrrl View Post
    I agree Frazzzld, this^^ and the fact he knew where the car was... All sound very suspicious to me.
    Unless they were supposed to met there and were planning to skip school or something. But I highly doubt that. Maybe she never showed up to school and he went searching for her or something because he was worried?

  6. #6
    Join Date
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    It is not uncommon to leave a car running when someone decides to commit suicide. I live near a very high bridge that crosses the outer harbor of Baltimore. I have actually seen cars at the crest of the bridge with the door open, engine running and no one around. Then find out later that someone jumped and commited suicide.

  7. #7
    GuiltyLittleDeathHag Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by bulletnose View Post
    It is not uncommon to leave a car running when someone decides to commit suicide. I live near a very high bridge that crosses the outer harbor of Baltimore. I have actually seen cars at the crest of the bridge with the door open, engine running and no one around. Then find out later that someone jumped and commited suicide.

    Maybe they are in a frantic panic and just ran off to die?!

    I would think if it was foul play and someone had held her down under water, for instance...Wouldn't there be bruising or something to suggest she was held down?

    Something just bothers me about this, regardless of how it happened.

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