Mother charged with murder of 9-year-old girl stuffed in a duffel bag and dumped in Oregon forest
Death estimated to have occurred between 30 and 60 days prior to discovery of child’s remains
A mother has been charged with murder after her nine-year-old daughter was identified as the girl found dead in a duffel bag in an Oregon forest in December 2020.
The girl was identified as Haley Mae Coblentz. Born in Colorado, she had been living with her mother, Shawna Browning, 29, and her mother’s partner, Lauren Harrison, 34, in various locations in the pacific northwest, starting in 2015.
Her remains were found in a muddy riverbank close to a rest area in Lincoln County, a heavily wooded area of the state lining the coast, on 10 December last year. She had been stuffed in a duffel bag and left in the forest.
She had not been reported missing and her death was estimated to have occurred between 30 and 60 days prior to the discovery of her remains.
While how she died is still not clear, Oregon State Police have now said that both Ms Browning and Ms Harrison have been charged with aggravated murder. They are being held without bail in Wayne County after being arrested at a hotel in Detriot, Michigan on 30 November.
Police said in a press release that the child’s remains were identified via DNA samples on 4 October of this year.
Law enforcement said Haley’s body was “inside a duffle bag that had been concealed in the forest near the rest area. Based on the condition of the remains, little was known about the deceased’s race, appearance, or other identifying characteristics”. They added that she was “wearing a pull-up diaper”.
In an earlier police update on the case, law enforcement said investigators ruled out more than 60 potential missing children over a period of six months. They added that they have received and investigated more than 180 tips from the public.
“Using available dental records, field contacts, and other investigative techniques, investigators have been able to exclude 61 individuals from being the child whose remains were recovered,” Oregon State Police said.