A Montgomery County woman who had been missing for more than two weeks was found dead on Wednesday, officials said.
SkyForce10 was over the scene as police and investigators in hazmat suits searched through a wooded area behind an industrial facility along the 200 block of North 5th Street in Royersford, Wednesday afternoon. Sources told NBC10 the search was in connection to the disappearance of 43-year-old Jennifer Brown.
During an afternoon press conference, officials revealed Brown was found dead and partially buried in a shallow grave in Royersford. A worker at the facility who was outside for a smoke break made the discovery and alerted police.
Officials have not announced any arrests or a cause of death. They continue to investigate. Brown's body was taken to the coroner's office.
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"I can't tell you how many people have worked through this and have helped in this case to try to locate her," Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said. "We hoped and prayed that she would be safe. And she is not."
Brown, of Limerick Township, Pennsylvania, was last seen alive at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, January 3, by her friend and business partner Antonio “Blair” Watts-Richardson.
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Watts-Richardson told NBC10 he was with Brown on Jan. 3 and took her 8-year-old son to his house for a sleepover that night.
“I put Noah on the bus the next day,” Watts-Richardson said.
Watts-Richardson told NBC10 Brown never called that night to speak with him or her son.
Brown was scheduled to pick up her son from the bus stop the following afternoon on January 4 but never showed up.
“She is a doting, I call her, helicopter mom. She loves her son. She would never leave her son,” Tiffany Barron, Brown’s best friend, told NBC10.
Watts-Richardson said he doesn’t know what happened to Brown between Jan. 3 and the morning of Jan. 4.
“I have nothing to do with anything,” Watts-Richardson said. “Just because I’m the last person to see her, that does not mean anything.”
Watts-Richardson told NBC10 he and Brown had planned to open a new restaurant together.
“It seems like I’m being the one poked at,” Watts-Richardson said. “And it’s frustrating because I’m the first person that was the one calling the police, trying to kick down windows. Trying to find my friend. Trying to make sure her son is covered.”
Brown’s vehicle was parked outside of her home on Stratford Court, less than two miles away from where her body was eventually found. Her car keys, wallet, purse and work cell phone were found inside the vehicle. Her personal cell phone has not been found and has not been in use since the morning of Jan. 4.
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