Photo: Montgomery County District Attorney's Office
The body of Jennifer Brown, a Pennsylvania mother who had been missing for several weeks, was found partly buried on Wednesday (January 18), Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele confirmed via NBC News.
Brown, 43, was located in Royersford, which is about 32 miles northwest of Philadelphia, after being reported missing after she failed to pick up her 8-year-old son from a bus stop on January 4. The mother was reported to have been last seen by a "friend and business associate" at around 2:00 p.m. on January 3, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.
Aerial footage captured by NBC Philadelphia showed authorities observing potential evidence behind a warehouse in relation to the case.
“I can’t tell you how many people have worked through this and helped,” Steele said via NBC News. “We hoped and prayed she would be safe, and she is not.”
Brown's car was parked outside her home with her keys, wallet, purse and work cellphone inside, the department said during its search. Steele described Brown as a "devoted mother of an 8-year-old boy," adding, "by all accounts she would have never left him unattended and unsupervised."
Antonio 'Blair' Watts-Richardson, a friend of Brown, told NBC Philadelphia that she'd been preparing to open a restaurant and was dealing with family and work stress prior to her disappearance earlier this month. Watts-Richardson said he watched Brown's son on the day of her disappearance and was unaware of her plans at the time.