PHYLICIA BARNES - 16 yo (2010) - Baltimore MD

This isn't looking like it's going to have a good outcome.

so the mom let her 16 year old visit her aunt (mom's sister) without knowing her living conditions and her behavior??? I hope we do not hear about a body being found next week.

FBI joins hunt for N.C. teen who went missing from Baltimore
Police have said they fear girl a victim of foul play; detectives search Leakin Park

An elite FBI team set up to find missing and exploited children has joined Baltimore police in the search for a teenager who disappeared last month, even as detectives search Leakin Park based on a tip from an Internet posting, according to authorities involved in the investigation.

As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, investigators were scouring the woods along the 4000 block of Franklintown Road after reading an online comment posted on a Baltimore Sun story about the missing 16-year-old girl.

It read: "Humor me, somebody pop over to the 4000 block of Franklintown Road and look at the Southward shoulder."

Police say there is no evidence other than the post to suggest that Phylicia Simone Barnes has been killed and left in the park, a notorious dumping ground for bodies in Baltimore. The post could be a vague reference to the park's reputation, but police said detectives want to thoroughly investigate all tips.

read more

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-missing-teen-baltimore-20110104,0,2597415.story

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20027203-504083.html

Sad!!!! Praying for her but it doesn't look good. I definitely felt it had something to do with the appartment and the people in it, i.e. the sister's boyfriend or his friends....now they say there was more going on.......

BALTIMORE -- Police spent hours
searching a park in Baltimore on Tuesday in hopes of finding answers to
the disappearance of 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes.Officials said a
comment about the search for Barnes, which was left on the Baltimore
Sun website, propelled more than 100 investigators to scour the Leakin
Park for nearly eight hours, but turned up nothing.Public
information officer Anthony Guglielmi said the tip, which said, "Humor
me, somebody pop over to the 4000 block of Franklintown Road and look at
the southward shoulder," was too specific that it left them no choice
but to investigate.Police later learned that the person who made
the comment intended to make a suggestion based on the history of the
area, Guglielmi said."Detectives have been working around the
clock, literally around the clock on this case. (We have) 20 detectives
in shifts. This is extremely high priority for us. Every hours that
passes, we get more and more concerned," Guglielmi said.Barnes,
who was visiting from North Carolina, was last seen at about 1:30 p.m.
Tuesday at the Reisterstown Square apartments in northwest Baltimore."It's
very unlike her to not update her Facebook page, to not even turn on
her cell phone, to not try to access money to pay for things. This is
not the case of a runaway, and again as we said yesterday, we do suspect
some kind of foul play," Guglielmi said.The police official said the Federal Bureau of Investigation has joined in the search."We
are going over every single shred of evidence that we've already had.
We are re-interviewing everybody who we've already interviewed, just to
make sure that we didn't miss anything," Guglielmi said.

http://www.wbaltv.com/news/26372206/detail.html

oviedo45 wrote:so the mom let her 16 year old visit her aunt (mom's sister) without knowing her living conditions and her behavior??? I hope we do not hear about a body being found next week.

I got the impression the sister was Phylicia's, not her Mom's. Could be a half sister as she's 28.

kiwimom wrote:

oviedo45 wrote:so the mom let her 16 year old visit her aunt (mom's sister) without knowing her living conditions and her behavior??? I hope we do not hear about a body being found next week.

I got the impression the sister was Phylicia's, not her Mom's. Could be a half sister as she's 28.

---Per the interview on HLN last night, it is a half-sister to Phylicia. Same question, different relation

The written word, whether it is in traditional print or on a computer screen, remains powerful.And nothing could prove that more than what happened on Tuesday in the frantic search
for the missing 16-year-old girl, Phylicia Simone Barns (at left), who
disappeared without a trace from a Northwest Baltimore apartment on Dec.
28.A comment posted on the bottom of a Baltimore Sun story read:
"Humor me, somebody pop over to the 4000 block of Franklintown Road and
look at the Southwest shoulder." Cops, hunting down any and
every clue, took immediate interest. Was this simply an obvious
reference to Leakin Park being a notorious and popular dumping ground
for bodies, or did this poster know something specific?Hard to
tell. The version that appears in public identifies the author only by a
screen name, Cham101. Police sought more information on the poster from
the newspaper, but as that was being worked out, police mobilized more
than 100 police officers to search the area. An entire cadet class. More
than 20 homicide detectives. A dive team. A helicopter. Officers from
the Maryland Natural Resources police. Nine cadaver dogs.They
searched a section of the isolated park all day, giving up only after
the poster had been tracked down, by this newspaper's chief police
reporter, Justin Fenton. He reported back:

The comment
was posted by a Sun reader and frequent commenter, who uses the screen
name Cham101. In early November she had posted a research project on her
blog that attempted to map all the bodies found in Leakin Park over the
years. You can check it out here.

"The reason I said look at the
4000 block of Franklintown Road is because if someone disappears on the
West Side that is ground zero of where they are going to be found,"
Cham posted on our site after police said her comment had sparked the
search. "The police should have searched in all these places 2 days
ago. These are easy drop points for bodies and many many bodies have
been found at these sites."

At a news conference, police
called this tip the only credible tip they had at the time. The said
they mobilized such a heavy force because the message was very specific
as to a potential location. They were understandably not happy when they
discovered the new information about the commentator later in the day.This
is a problem with anonymous comments. They allow the writer to say
almost anything, and it's what newspapers across the country try to
encourage -- a free-wheeling debate. But had the identity of the poster
been known up front, it would've prevented such a massive and fruitless
search, and allowed detectives to concentrate on other leads. Some
newspaper editors, citing the viscous and often-time racists and
personal attacks, have suspended comments on crime and other similar
stories. The Baltimore Sun blocks comments on stories when the topic
veers into hateful territory.Cham101's defense that police
should've looked in Leakin Park from the start is without merit. Though
true that it is known for body dumps, Leaking Park and adjoining Gwynns
Falls Park make up 1,100 acres of mostly wooded land. It took more than
100 cops seven hours to thoroughly search just the area that the poster
directed them too.Though anonymous, and with police knowing it
could be a general statement rather than a specific tip, had to act. Had
they not, and her body was discovered next to stream along Franklintown
Road, it would've appeared they had ignored an early lead. But it also
serves as a lesson that the written word is powerful, and shouldn't be
written in haste.

MONROE, N.C. -- Police turned up no sign of a missing Monroe teenager during a Tuesday search of a secluded Baltimore park.


SLIDESHOW:
Photos Of Missing Monroe Teen

Phylicia Barnes, 16, was last seen on Dec. 28 in Baltimore, where
she was visiting her half-sister. She may have been abducted,
investigators said."I'm told she’s a straight-A student,
graduated high school early, planned to attend Towson University, has no
history of running away, has no history of emotional distress, no
criminal history," Anthony Gugliemi, a spokesman for the Baltimore
Police Department, said.More than 100 police officers searched
Leakin Park for hours on Tuesday, but found no signs of a body or clues
to Barnes’ whereabouts. They searched a stream and woods in Leakin Park,
helped by a police helicopter, members of the dive team, dogs trained
to sniff out bodies and officers from the Maryland Natural Resources
police.Investigators also searched the half-sister’s apartment for a second time, but still found no sign of the teen.There
has been no activity on Barnes’ Facebook account, bank account or cell
phone account since she was reported missing, Baltimore police said.
Guglielmi said the boyfriend of one of Barnes’ half-sisters was the last
person to see her before she went missing. Neither he nor anyone else
has been named a suspect or person of interest in her disappearance.Barnes’
mother, Janice Sallis, said her daughter had connected with her
half-sister through Facebook. Eventually, she decided to allow her to
take a trip to Baltimore to visit over the Christmas holiday.“Before
she was allowed to go there, I questioned her sister, Deena Barnes, who
is 28 years old. ‘How was her environment?’ She said, ‘It’s just going
to be me and Phylicia because my boyfriend and I, we broke up and he
would be officially moved out by Jan. 1,’” Sallis said.However,
Sallis said she later learned that people were in and out of the
apartment and Barnes’ half-sister may have allowed the teenager to drink
alcohol.“I was infuriated,” Sallis said. “I said, ‘You know that’s not the environment she comes from.’”Sallis said she last spoke with her daughter on Christmas Day.Barnes’
disappearance has stunned her classmates at Union Academy in Monroe,
where she is a senior. They gathered on Monday morning to hold a vigil.

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/26352094/detail.html?cxntlid=cmg_cntnt_rss

More than two dozen city police cadets, half the city police homicide
unit, and dozens of folks in the community canvassed the apartment
complex and the nearby Reisterstown road plaza with flyers looking for
any leads in this case. They even brought in special FBI search helicopters to help in the search. Police admit that they are stumped as there are few clues. They
have executed several search warrants, have interviewed dozens of
people and even have what they call persons of interest but so far no
solid leads. Police say the one thing they are sure about is that this young woman would not go off on her own, in a city she did not know. They don't know what happened to her but they're not ruling anything out. "As
far as foul play we can't rule that out and we're basing that purely on
the circumstances we don't have anything else that there has been foul
play involved but because it's been so long and so unusual half the
homicide unit is assigned to this case and we're getting lots of help
from the community." City police major Terrance McLarney told reporters
at a news conference this afternoon. Her father says he’s hoping for the best and wants people to call the police if they’ve seen anything. "We
have no idea sir we just prey that everything works out we have no
ideas and we know that the Baltimore police department and everyone
involved in this and doing the best that they can." Phylicia’s father
Russell Barnes told reporters. At this point authorities are
looking for any tips in this case they've set up a special 24 hour tip
line... 1-855-223-0033 for information about the Barnes case.

Authorities continued their search
Thursday for a 16-year-old North Carolina girl who disappeared while
visiting relatives in Baltimore.Police said they suspect foul
play in the disappearance of Phylicia Barnes, who was last seen Dec. 28,
and have set up a hot line for anyone who might have information about
the case. That number is 855-223-0033.Officers responded to what
they called "suspicious activity" near the Reisterstown Road Plaza on
Wednesday, but a search didn't turn up anything."As far as foul
play, we can't rule that out," said police Maj. Terrence McLarney. "And
we're basing that solely on the circumstances. We don't have anything
else that tells us if there's been foul play involved -- simply that it
has been this long and is so unusual."
The FBI and the Center for Missing and Exploited Children are also involved in the search.
In addition to the hot line, investigators have passed out fliers with Barnes' picture.
Barnes, who is from Monroe, N.C., hasn't used her cell phone or credit card since she was last seen Dec. 28.
"I pray to God that my daughter is fine and she'll be found safe," said
Barnes' father, Russell Barnes. "I hope people keep praying as high as
they can and understand that this shouldn't happen to any child anywhere
in this country."Dozens of investigators searched Leakin Park
earlier this week, using search and seizure dogs, cadaver dogs,
helicopters and a dive team.There are currently no suspects in the case.
Anyone with information on her whereabouts is urged to call police.

Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi was complaining that he couldn't get national media attention to help locate missing 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes, who may have been abducted and taken out of state.But
Thursday afternoon, he suddenly got hit with requests for the CBS
Early Show, NBC's Today and CNN's Nancy Grace, who makes a living hyping
missing children stories. I tuned in to the show a few minutes ago but
saw only coverage of a missing 13-year-old cheerleader from Texas,
and an interview with her distraught mom who for some reason was
admitting to have failed a police-administered lie-detector test.Guglielmi
had expressed concern of a double-standard -- that Phylicia wasn't
getting national attention because she went missing in Baltimore. He
noted that she could've been abducted, that police believe she's a
victim of foul play, that she's an honor student and track star who was
going to graduate early and go to college at Towson University.


What he didn't say but what cops are
thinking: Phylicia Barnes is also black and disappeared in a violent
city. Missing children typically showcased on national televsion are
white and from the suburbs. Race and class is the presiding factor, says
a university professor and media expert I interviewed.But
I had hoped that Nancy Grace had come through. Guglielmi and the head
of the homicide unit, Maj. Terrence McLarney, were to head down to DC to
tape a segment for the show that is on the air as I write this. When I
didn't see city cops on my TV screen, I sent a text message to the
spokesman.Gugllielmi wrote back: "No, they never followed through" (he told me CBS producers never called back either).The cheerleader from rural Texas trumped the college-bound teen from Baltimore.As
I walked out of the living room to type this post, I heard a promo from
the Nancy Grace show on the victim from Texas: "She's not just the talk
of the town, she's the talk of the nation."Gugliemi said the
Early Show also never called back. But they did tape a segment for
Today. The spokesman said he's not asking for a full-blown hour. "I just
want them to flash a picture, that's all I want," he said Thursday
night.
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/blog/2011/01/news_shows_bails_on_missing_ci.html

Russell Barnes has not been at his Clayton County home for more than a week.
He’s been up in northwest Baltimore looking for his 16-year-old daughter, Phylicia Barnes, who disappeared on Dec. 28.
The high-profile case has baffled authorities: what happened to the
teenager after she walked out of her sister’s northwest Baltimore
apartment around 1:30 p.m.?
Baltimore police have assigned half of its homicide squad to the
case, and the FBI has agreed to fly in two helicopters equipped with
advanced technology to help search for Barnes, according to the (Baltimore) Sun. The massive manhunt
includes the Maryland State Police, cadaver dogs, a 24-hour hot line
and now billboards along one of the nation’s busiest highways.
The case has captured the attention of media and the public in Maryland and in North Carolina, where Phylicia Barnes lives.
The AJC learned about Barnes’ missing daughter after receiving an
email from a friend and former co-worker of his. The AJC has attempted
to contact Barnes, who told reporters during a news conference in
Maryland Wednesday that he is not ready to concede that his daughter is
dead.
“I just want to pray to God that my beautiful daughter is all right and that she will be found,” he told the Sun.
Barnes went with cadets from Baltimore police’s academy class as they
handed out fliers with a photo and description of Phylicia, the Sun
said. Their focus was Leakin Park and the surrounding area, the Sun
said.
“This is about finding my child,” he told the Sun. “My child.”
Phylicia Barnes, an honor student who lives in Monroe, N.C., near
Charlotte, was staying in her 27-year-old sister’s basement apartment.
She planned to move to Baltimore and attend Towson University after
graduating early from high school, the Sun said.
Police told the media that Phylicia Barnes left her sister’s
apartment on the afternoon of Dec. 28, apparently to get something to
eat. Her debit card hasn’t been used, her cell phone has been turned off
and her Facebook page has not been updated, the Sun said.
“It is not in her character to disappear,” Russell Barnes said in a
statement printed on a missing person’s flier. “It’s not her character
at all to not let anybody know her whereabouts. She’s not just a runaway
or anything like that.”
The flier said Phylicia Barnes was last seen wearing a navy blue
hooded pea coat, a turquoise thermal shirt, blue jeans and white slipper
boots. She was carrying a caramel-colored purse.
Baltimore police have told the media they don’t have immediate
evidence to suspect foul play but have to take that possibility more
seriously as time goes on. They are investigating the possibility that the teenager was abducted, the Sun said.
Clear Channel Communications has donated billboard space along Interstate 95 between Baltimore and New York City, the Charlotte Observer said.
The billboards will display the teenager’s photo as well as a new
nationwide 24-hour telephone tips number – 1-855-223-0033, the Observer
said.
More than 7,000 people have joined the Facebook page, “Pray for Phylicia Barnes.”