Bodies of Missing Rachel Smith and Rachel Crites Found in Car (Suicide – Carbon Monoxide Poisoning)
Two bodies have been found in Virgina in the car belonging to one of the missing teens from Maryland. It appears the sad end has come to the search foe 16 year old Rachel Smith and 18 year old Rachel Crites. What a sad ending and it would appear that they went through on their promise that they had previously posted in their diary:
“Wherever I end up laying, whether buried or cremated, I want to stay with my true love, buried next to her. This is my choice. I’m sorry.”
A sad ending to two girls lives that died way too soon in life.
Loudoun County Sheriff’s spokesman Kraig Troxell says the bodies were found in a dark blue Subaru Outback about 2:15 p-m off Route 9 near the West Virginia border.
Troxell says the bodies haven’t been identified.
The cause of death remains under investigation. Sixteen-year-old Rachel Smith, of Potomac, and 18-year-old Rachel Crites, of Gaithersburg, have been missing since January 19th, when they told their parents they would be attending a movie in Washington.
Police have confirmed that the car in which the bodies were found belonged to Crites. (WTKR)
UPDATE I: Bodies of Missing Teens Found in Car Confirmed to be Rachel Smith & Rachel Crites
He says authorities later found the bodies of two females in the car’s front seats.
Loudoun County investigators confirmed early Saturday that the victims were 16-year-old Rachel Smith, of Potomac, and 18-year-old Rachel Crites, of Gaithersburg.
Authorities say there were no signs of trauma on the bodies, and the cause of death is not yet known. (ABC7)
Grim Ending Stirs Quest For Answers Md. Teens Found Dead Eluded Searchers; Motivations Unclear
It had been an anxious time for their parents, their neighbors, their friends at Wootton High School — even for people who had never met them and who, through e-mails and Web sites, had worried and prayed and called for them to come home.
“These people just wanted desperately to help,” said Cathy Hodin, who organized search and assistance efforts from her North Potomac home. (Washington Post)
UPDATE II: Police Await Missing Teens’ Autopsy Reports
More will be known about the deaths of two Montgomery County teenagers who went missing two weeks ago after autopsies are completed Monday.
Investigators confirmed early Saturday that 16-year-old Rachel Smith, of Potomac, and 18-year-old Rachel Crites, of Gaithersburg, were found dead in a car Friday near the West Virginia border in Loudoun County, Va. Their bodies were taken to the medical examiner in Fairfax County, Va.
Authorities called the deaths apparent suicides. They said there were no signs of trauma to the bodies. (NBC 4)
UPDATE I: Maryland Teens Die Of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
A preliminary autopsy has determined that the two Maryland teens, Rachel Crites, 18, and Rachel Smith, 16, who were found dead inside their vehicle near the West Virginia border Friday afternoon, died of carbon monoxide poisoning. The Office of the Medical Examiner in Fairfax County made the ruling today, and although the case remains under active investigation, authorities are calling the case an apparent suicide. “The autopsy is not fully complete yet,” Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Kraig Troxell said. However, adhering to the Sheriff’s Office policy regarding suicide cases, Troxell declined further comment. (Leesburg Today)
UPDATE II: Missing Maryland Teens Deaths Ruled Suicides
What a sad conclusion but one that was not expected. The initial distubing note in the teens diary pointed at such a conclusion. However, an ending like this never needed to occur. There were so many other options … rather than suicide. So many indeed.
The Loudoun County sheriff’s office says they probably expired of carbon monoxide poisoning.
The Virginia medical examiner’s office in Fairfax County ruled yesterday on the cause of death based on a preliminary autopsy, Loudoun sheriff’s spokesman Kraig Troxell said. “Although the case remains an active investigation, it appears the two teens took their own lives,” Troxell said in a statement.
The sheriff’s office would not release further details, citing a policy not to disclose information in suicide cases.
ok i hope this isn’t a dumb question…but were the two girls dating?
Comment by ashley | February 6, 2007