Missing New Jersey Girl, Abbiegail ‘Abbie’ Smith, 11, Found Dead, Investigated As Homicide
The Keansburg Police Department are investigating the death of an 11-year-old New Jersey girl, Abbiegail “Abbie” Smith, whose body was found in the vicinity of an apartment complex just hours after she was reported missing. Abbiegail was last seen around 7:45 p.m. on Wednesday at the apartment she shared with her mother on Hancock Street.
NBC Philadelphia reports the child’s mother reported her missing about an hour after she vanished, and the Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni stated that “the child abduction response team with the Monmouth County prosecutor’s office, along with the Keansburg Police and other agencies arrived at the scene” and cordoned off the apartment complex with yellow crime scene police tape.
Keansburg police commenced a social media campaign in hopes of finding the missing girl, but just hours after Abbiegail, a student at Bolger Middle School, was reported missing, she was found dead near her home at around 10:45 a.m. on Thursday.
Locals say Abbiegail was found dead on the rooftop of a tan house located next to the apartment complex as they witnessed police placing tarps on the roof, but that information has not been confirmed. Recent reports indicate that Abbiegail’s body was found in a large container behind her home.
https://www.facebook.com/keansburgpd/photos/a.1539521206295879.1073741828.1539112203003446/1950224195225576/?type=3&theater
Circumstances leading up to the Keansburg girl’s death has not been determined, but police officials believe her death was intentional; therefore, it is being investigated as a homicide. Abbiegail’s remains were taken to the local medical examiner’s office to determine the exact cause of death.
During a news conference at the Hancock Street apartment on Thursday, Gramiccioni assured the community that they do not have anything to worry about as police believe Abbiegail’s murder was an “isolated crime.”
According to a spokesperson with the Monmouth prosecutor’s office, the Keansburg police do not have further information to release. Authorities are now turning to the public for help in finding out what happened to Abbiegail in the moments leading up to her death.
@FiOS1NewsNJ has latest from @MonmouthPDFDEMS who says they recovered the body of 11yr old Abbiegail Smith outside an #Keansburg apartment pic.twitter.com/xnIbs3OM3N
— Raven Santana (@RaveSantanaNJ) July 13, 2017
Anyone with information regarding Abbiegail’s apparent murder is urged to contact the Monmouth County prosecutor’s investigators at 800-533-7443. Anonymous tips can be sent to 1-800-671-4400, or submit the text “MONMOUTH” along with your tip to 274637.
The investigation is active and ongoing.
[Featured Image by Keansburg Police Department]
