14-year-old’s body found in river 3 months after she was reported missing
03/02/2023 2:47 pm PST
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (TCD) -- Police positively identified the body pulled from the Mohawk River last week as a 14-year-old who had been missing since November.
Samantha Humphrey was last seen Nov. 25, 2022, at around 11:30 p.m. wearing a black and pink parka, bell-bottom jeans, and Timberland boots. Her mother reported her missing the next day, and several local and state law enforcement officials assisted in the search for the 14-year-old.
The Schenectady Police Department announced this week that investigators recovered a body from the Mohawk River on Feb. 22, and the remains were positively identified as Humphrey’s.
According to WTEN-TV, surveillance video captured Humphrey walking near the Mohawk River, but she was never captured leaving the area. Her black and pink puffy jacket was reportedly found on the riverbank near a railroad bridge. Investigators found three sets of DNA on the jacket, one of which belonged to Humphrey.
Humphrey reportedly texted a friend the night she disappeared that she planned to meet up with her ex-boyfriend in the same vicinity where she was last seen.
The Schenectady School District superintendent released a statement following the news of her death saying, "This news is disturbing and is deeply affecting all of us. I, along with everyone in our school community, share the sadness and grief surrounding Samantha’s passing. Her potential was limitless and she will be greatly missed."
In her obituary, her family wrote Humphrey "lost a short but ferocious battle with evil itself, and passed into infinity."
Police said the investigation into her death is ongoing and the department is waiting for autopsy results.
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