NJ: Missing teenage girl found dead after huge search in park where car was abandoned

BURLINGTON TOWNSHIP, NJ - Police have found the body of a Florence, NJ, teenager who has been missing since Monday, according to officials.

On Friday, a New Jersey canine unit found the Sarah Townsend, 18, at 1:15 p.m. in a pond in Green Acres Park where her abandoned car was discovered hours after she disappeared, according to Burlington County Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi.

Townsend, 18, vanished on Monday while on her way to Allentown High School.

Townsend’s boyfriend notified police Monday when she failed to show up at school, and a search operation was organized.

Friends and family reached out on Facebook and Twitter in an attempt to find out what happened to Townsend, but police were baffled by a lack of clues.

Police are now investigating whether or not Townsend may have been suicidal at the time of her disappearance. An autopsy and toxicology tests will be performed by the Burlington County Medical Examiner to determine the cause of death.