Body Of Missing New Jersey Teen Sarah Townsend Found In Pond

BURLINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The body of a missing New Jersey teenager was found Friday in a pond at the park where her abandoned car was found just four days earlier.

An autopsy confirmed that 18-year-old Sarah Townsend died of drowning.  Burlington County Prosecutor Robert Bernardi said Friday night that there were no signs of trauma to Townsend's body and no indication that foul play contributed to her death.

Burlington Township Public Safety Director, Walt Corter, told reporters that Townsend's body had been discovered around 1:15 p.m.

Townsend was last seen Monday morning, when she left her family's home in Florence to go to Allentown High School.

Townsend's boyfriend found her car at the park -- a place he said they often spent time -- hours later. A door was open and the engine was running. Her cellphone and purse were left inside. The teen's emotional boyfriend had to be held back at the scene Friday.

Burlington County Prosecutor Robert Bernardi said canine tracking teams led police back to the pond they'd searched earlier in the week.

There was heartbreak at the Townsend home Friday, reports CBS 2's Christine Sloan. The family had refused to give up hope and even put up a billboard along a major highway promising a $10,000 reward for Sarah Townsend's safe return.

Friends and neighbors said they were devastated to hear the news.

"I'm heartbroken, I'm just...kids of my own and everything. It's just horrible," one woman said.

"She was a good person. She was quiet. I'm going to miss her," another man said.

"I was upset as if she was someone I knew and I never met her," Gabrielle Mercantino said.

On Wednesday, Corter said police were told Townsend may have wanted to harm herself.

However, her parents told The Courier-Post of Cherry Hill that their daughter was happy when she left their home on Monday. They said she was getting ready to attend two proms and was working on coordinating her hairdo and dress for each.

Friends and other teens who didn't know her combed the area where Townsend was later found and held a candlelight vigil for her Wednesday.

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