MD - Phylicia Barnes, 16, Baltimore, 28 Dec 2010 #6

[rngirl513]

Was there any connection or indication anywhere earlier about this area 40 miles away?
Was this a potential fishing area for example?

Yes it is. My husband used to fish up north where she was found, and south, below is a picnic area. When the water is released, it gets rough there. You better move right away if you are out there in a boat or you will get washed away. People have gotten killed because they dont heed the sirens. You are not allowed to anchor there below the gates.

 

[Kimster]

I still don't think he is connected to her case. I bet this is a regular place to dump bodies and he came up just like she did, because of the Spring like weather change. IMOO

That's what I was wondering too. But still you'd think he would be reported missing.

 

[Cubby]

I applaud NG for devoting the entire hour to PB's story/case, save for a brief segue of Dr. D's new show.

It's a crying shame when my husband asks-"Who's the guy talking, a cop?"-when it was rb talking about finding out about the death of his missing daughter, PB.

Then, even before NG could ask about why db didn't call JS to tell her that PB was missing, rb goes into damage control-and talks about how reports about db are not accurate and digs his heels in to say that db called JS.

Nancy told him that's not what JS said and rb refuted her again.

At this point, NG says that if it is as he says then she's glad, then NG says "play the tape."

"The tape" is a previously recorded interview of JS explaining how she got a terrible feeling while she was at work and decided to call db. When she asked, "Where's Simone," db blurbs- "I don't know, she's missing." This is per JS.

To me, RB's credibility is SHOT TO .

It felt like a courtroom moment, and I eagerly await the arrests and CONVICTIONS of ALL who had knowledge and a hand in the disappearance, death, and dumping of Phylicia Simone Barnes.


~Prayers for JS and her family~

Go get 'em Nancy! Shot to shiot is correct! There has been far too much 'damage control' and reputation protection from day one.

I do not believe DB or KB were directly involved in what happened, however there is no denying their choices led to the events which took Phylicia's life. It is a shame Mr. Barnes has to place so high of a focus on dragging whatever issues he has with his daughters mother into the spotlight. I so wish more parents would put their dislike for their childs parent on the side and focus on what is most important. In this case, it is Phylicia.

Phylicia we are going to keep fighting/seeking justice for you. Your mother, your family and your classmates deserve no less!

I am so impressed with ALL that her peers did. They should be applauded for keeping PB's case in the spotlight as well. They are an amazing group of students.

 

[Malini2001]

I still don't think he is connected to her case. I bet this is a regular place to dump bodies and he came up just like she did, because of the Spring like weather change. IMOO

I don't think it is a regular place to dump bodies, although I found a reference to someone murdered in PA and dumped in the river. There are usually a few drownings a year in the MD portion - it is a popular recreation area.

This could be a coincidence due to the current changes with spring, but I'm also wondering if there were others involved outside of the regular group that hung out at the apartment. Maybe there was a falling out within the group. Or maybe more than 1 person recently decided it would make a good dumping grounds.

I've tried to find references to whether the Susquehanna froze over this past winter but I haven't found anything. I think it is more likely that it froze farther north, in PA. it doesn't freeze right near the dam because of the water action. But I guess it's possible the body was placed in the water more than 5 miles upstream.

 

[katydid23]

Yes it is. My husband used to fish up north where she was found, and south, below is a picnic area. When the water is released, it gets rough there. You better move right away if you are out there in a boat or you will get washed away. People have gotten killed because they dont heed the sirens. You are not allowed to anchor there below the gates.

Thank you for the local info. It sounds to me like whomever placed her there knew that it was fast moving. They probably hoped she would wash away some place far. Is there an outlet to the bay anywhere around there?

 

[Malini2001]

That's what I was wondering too. But still you'd think he would be reported missing.

There is a very active drug trade in Baltimore, as well as gang violence. Further up the river in parts of PA I think there are drug issues as well. There was a murder in Harrisburg not long ago where the body was found in the river.

I think quite a few gang members from Baltimore city probably disappear without being reported missing. I think this very well may be someone that nobody was looking for.

 

[Malini2001]

Thank you for the local info. It sounds to me like whomever placed her there knew that it was fast moving. They probably hoped she would wash away some place far. Is there an outlet to the bay anywhere around there?

The Susquehanna eventually flows into the Chesapeake Bay.

 

[cluciano63]

Unfortunately, not everyone is reported missing. It depends if the other person was a part of a gang, the drug world, etc...sometimes families are afraid to report anything to police. Or maybe he was from out of state and they will have to run his prints that way. He was so large that if he was murdered, I think he must have been shot.

 

[katydid23]

I don't think it is a regular place to dump bodies, although I found a reference to someone murdered in PA and dumped in the river. There are usually a few drownings a year in the MD portion - it is a popular recreation area.

This could be a coincidence due to the current changes with spring, but I'm also wondering if there were others involved outside of the regular group that hung out at the apartment. Maybe there was a falling out within the group. Or maybe more than 1 person recently decided it would make a good dumping grounds.

I've tried to find references to whether the Susquehanna froze over this past winter but I haven't found anything. I think it is more likely that it froze farther north, in PA. it doesn't freeze right near the dam because of the water action. But I guess it's possible the body was placed in the water more than 5 miles upstream.

Thank you for looking into the freeze issue. That is something I wondered about as it was end of December when she went missing. If it was going to freeze over it would have by then, correct? But maybe it was the dam that prevented it, thus made it a good dumping ground.

Some one posted further upstream in this thread that they grew up near there and it was a common place to dump bodies.
See Below:




Originally Posted by strach304
What do you want to know about the fishing? I used to go there often, lived in the Baltimore area most of my life. My brother actually lives in Harford County very close to Conowingo. I fished with my dad as a child there a lot. The Susquehanna River is pretty far from where she was staying with her sister. That dam is huge. Like Patapsco State Park it is a popular dumping place for bodies.I've even seen it at creek water level and the bottom is covered in huge sharp boulders and rocks. The water itself even at low level moves pretty hard, enough imo to tear a body up. I know from the Laci Peterson case that the experts said bodies always surface in April because of the change in currents. No doubt she could have been weighted down and stayed stationary up until now. I would hope the ME can tell by damage to the body how far she may have traveled. The area her sister lives in is high crime, pretty much everywhere across the entire state of Maryland is. Her sister resided within the city limits and murders there are very common. They won't solve this. I believe with the FBI involved and the media they will try. The police spokesman stating this being such a different type case is BS. PB wasn't local, honor student, etc. Plenty of girls like PB have been murdered there, their cases aren't put under the microscope and on NG like PB. We have a case here where a girl from Virginia was found dead near the projects and see how they have handled that as one example.

 

[chasing.halos]

Police have not yet identified the man, but the 11 News source said police believe he and Barnes are linked. Police said the man was black, about 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighed about 240 pounds.

http://www.wbaltv.com/r/27624491/detail.html

Are other articles stating that the two are linked??

 

[laytonian]

From an earlier story:

"Maryland State Police are investigating the deaths of two persons whose bodies were found today in the Susquehanna River, one north and one south of the Conowingo Dam."

Source: WBAL (Baltimore).

Phyllicia's body was found north of the dam, and the man's body was south. Other reports state that the bodies could have been in the water since December, since the water was very cold. Also, the dam floodgates had been opened, which means one body could have gone through there.

(Sorry to post an earlier story that doesn't mention that Phyllicia had been ID'd, but there's so many rewriters out there, like examiner, patch, gather - that it's hard to find a reliable MSM source.)

 

[Malini2001]

Had no idea the River was so long!
http://www.baygateways.net/region_susquehanna.cfm
"Nearly 450 miles above the Bay, the Susquehanna River is a minor stream trickling out of a modest lake. But the river gathers force as it moves through New York and Pennsylvania amid landscapes constantly shifting from mountainous to rural to industrial. When the Susquehanna flows into the Chesapeake at Havre de Grace, it does so at an average rate of 19 million gallons a minute, supplying about half of the fresh water in the Bay."

http://www.baygateways.net/map_susquehanna.cfm
map of the region the river flows through here. It dumps into the Chesapeake Bay at the bottom, where it says Concord Point Lighthouse. I don't see Conowingo listed on the map, but it's not very far north of there. The river only flows through MD for a short distance (comparatively speaking).

The dam is 5 miles below the PA-MD border.

 

[Cubby]

BBM

I am in ABSOLUTE AGREEMENT! To add further insult, the tactics displayed by rb this evening on NG are nothing short of HIDEOUSLY SUSPICIOUS.

JS needs LIONS on her behalf and by golly she's GOT EM here at WS, in LE, and around the world.

The suspicious nor criminally complicit need not apply.


JUSTICE FOR PHYLICIA SIMONE BARNES!!

I KNOW JS has LIONS in those of us who have followed and been dedicated to this case since day 1. Yourself included.

I want to roll like a lion and at the same time I am trying to find words for JS near this same day that our Blessed Mother of Jesus last held her son, her child. There are so many times I hug and kiss my son and think to myself, so many parents of the missing no longer have this chance....

I had a feeling with all the prayer this Holy Week would provide answers to Phylicia's disappearance. I'm still at a loss for words, but I know the blessed Mother Mary is praying for JS right as well as comforting her. The words will come to me when the time is right.

 

[Malini2001]

http://www.wbaltv.com/r/27624491/detail.html

Are other articles stating that the two are linked??

No! This is what the Sun says the state police spokesperson says...

"The male body retrieved from the water has not been identified. It was found on the other side of the Conowingo Dam, more than three miles away, according to state police spokesman Gregory Shipley. He said there was no reason to believe the bodies are connected, though they also can't rule it out."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-barnes-body-20110421,0,6874419.story

But I would consider WBAL the better source......the difference may be that WBAL's "source" may be the city police, and the state police held the press conference.

 

[cluciano63]

So it is possible the man is somehow linked to P?
It makes me wonder if someone was either trying to save her from her fate, or was a "loose cannon" and was threatening to tell.

 

[Malini2001]

Thank you for looking into the freeze issue. That is something I wondered about as it was end of December when she went missing. If it was going to freeze over it would have by then, correct? But maybe it was the dam that prevented it, thus made it a good dumping ground.

Some one posted further upstream in this thread that they grew up near there and it was a common place to dump bodies.
See Below:




Originally Posted by strach304
What do you want to know about the fishing? I used to go there often, lived in the Baltimore area most of my life. My brother actually lives in Harford County very close to Conowingo. I fished with my dad as a child there a lot. The Susquehanna River is pretty far from where she was staying with her sister. That dam is huge. Like Patapsco State Park it is a popular dumping place for bodies.I've even seen it at creek water level and the bottom is covered in huge sharp boulders and rocks. The water itself even at low level moves pretty hard, enough imo to tear a body up. I know from the Laci Peterson case that the experts said bodies always surface in April because of the change in currents. No doubt she could have been weighted down and stayed stationary up until now. I would hope the ME can tell by damage to the body how far she may have traveled. The area her sister lives in is high crime, pretty much everywhere across the entire state of Maryland is. Her sister resided within the city limits and murders there are very common. They won't solve this. I believe with the FBI involved and the media they will try. The police spokesman stating this being such a different type case is BS. PB wasn't local, honor student, etc. Plenty of girls like PB have been murdered there, their cases aren't put under the microscope and on NG like PB. We have a case here where a girl from Virginia was found dead near the projects and see how they have handled that as one example.

I did see that, and with all due respect to Strach, I don't think either place (Susquehanna River or Patapsco State Park) are common areas to dump bodies. Leakin Park is a common area to dump bodies - and the police searched there early on. Patapsco Park is very spread out and has sections in various parts of the state, and I live within 15 minutes of the areas they searched last month - and those areas are definitely not a dumping ground for bodies. I think the body found during the search (which I don't think has been identified yet) was a homeless person. The news reports said foul play was not suspected.

I'm not great at google searches, but I did a search for "bodies found in Susquehanna" and most were drownings and boating accidents. There was 1 murder near Harrisburg, PA recently.

If the river was frozen it would probably be in January or February, that's when we seem to get more snow and longer cold periods. A few years ago, parts of the bay froze in February. I've never heard of people ice fishing around here.

This story at wbal - http://www.wbaltv.com/r/27624491/detail.html - says that the area north of the dam where Phylicia was found is not easy to reach. Makes me wonder if she was placed there even further north. Their source did say the condition of the bodies were similar so maybe that is why they suspect they are related.

 

[writer7]

This may be a dumb question, but does the fact that the two were found on different sides of the dam mean anything?

Or are the gates opened regularly, so we can assume that the male body could easily have been on the other side recently?

 

[carbuff]

Googlemaps view of the dam and surrounding area. The marker is the Conowingo Dam visitor center.

Conowingo Dam

 

[georgiajean]

Are there waterfalls on the Susquehanna?

Is there an arched bridge? (not the dam, but UP RIVER)

 

[crmom]

Access to Connowingo Dam clipped from http://www.harfordbirdclub.org/conowingo.html.
On the Harford County side of the river, which is the same side as the parking lot at the dam, there are two spots. The first is close to the dam and viewing conditions are somewhat limited. The access is from the extreme left-hand end of the parking lot at the visitor's center on the north side of Rt. 1, about 100 yards south of Shuresville Road. Enter the parking lot and stay to the left and proceed to the bottom of the lot, next to the small maintenance shed. From the corner of the parking lot you will find a trail down the hill through the woods. It is about 75 yards to the edge of the river and a small promontory. From this spot it is possible to scope up and down the river and the light is always good.

The second spot requires some walking. From the visitor's center parking lot, go south on Rt. 1 (away from the dam) for about one half mile until you see a yellow gate on your right near the top of the next hill. Park on the side of the road. (DO NOT BLOCK THE GATE!) Walk around the gate and follow the access road for about one half mile. The access road goes to a large warning sign for boaters. In front of the sign, there is an extensive view up river and the light is always good.

The best access to the river is from the Cecil County side of the river. Cross the dam on Rt. 1 and go to the top of the hill and the traffic light at Rt. 222. Turn left and go about 1 mile to a left turn (the first left) at Mt. Zoar Road. Follow the road to the small boat launch. The boat launch is in the mouth of the creek and access to the river here is poor, requiring clambering over rocks to get to the railroad tracks. Drive past the boat launch and cross the old metal bridge. The road immediately turns back to the river. After one-half mile you will see a pull over on the left, with room for two or three cars. The pullover is the entrance to the old access road to the railroad tracks but is now blocked by a concrete barrier. Walk around the barrier and down to the railroad tracks, about 100 feet.
(** This note added January 2009 **) The section of Bell Manor Road that leads to the overlook is closed and my never be reopened. It is closed from the boat ramp at the end of Mt. Zoar Road to just below the entrance to the Girl Scout Camp, blocked off with concrete jersey barriers. It is possible to park the car at either end and walk to the overlook. However, it's not exactly a safe area to go walking around in, and it is not recommended that people park and walk unless they are in groups.