A body found in a trunk along a remote stretch of Texas highway has been positively identified as that of missing Greenville teen Alicia Chanta Moore, police said.
A construction crew discovered Moore's body at about 12 p.m. Tuesday in a furniture trunk along Highway 47. The body, police said, was transported to the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office for the positive identification.
Moore's body was found in Van Zandt County, about 40 miles away from Greenville where the 16-year-old disappeared. Moore was last seen Friday afternoon when she got off the school bus.
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According to Greenville Police Chief Dan Busken, officials at Greenville Independent School District reviewed campus surveillance camera footage that showed Moore safely exit the bus at 3:25 p.m. Friday, near her home at the corner of Bourland and Walnut streets. What happened to the teen after her drop-off remains a mystery.
Authorities said they interviewed Moore's friends and teachers. The school district's technology department also attempted to trace the location of Moore's school-issued iPad, however officials said the device had been reset and was untraceable.
Lori Philyaw, public information officer for the city of Greenville, Texas, told The Huffington Post authorities did not issue an Amber Alert for Moore because the case "did not fit the criteria."
According to the Texas governor's office, a law enforcement agency in Texas must determine a case has met the following criteria to activate the Amber Alert Network:
- The abducted child must be 17 or younger.
- The local law enforcement agency must believe that the child has been abducted, that is, unwillingly taken from their environment without permission from the child's parent or legal guardian or by the child’s parent or legal guardian who commits an act of murder or attempted murder during the time of the abduction.
- The local law enforcement agency must believe that the missing child is in immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death.
- The local law enforcement agency must confirm that an investigation has taken place that verifies the abduction and has eliminated alternative explanations for the missing child.
- Sufficient information is available to disseminate to the public that could assist in locating the child, the suspect, or the vehicle used in the abduction.
While an Amber Alert was not issued for Moore, authorities did notify the media as well as state and federal law enforcement agencies about her disappearance.
Philyaw said police notified Moore's family of the human remains found in Van Zandt County. "As soon as we got the call, our police department went out and spoke with the family about what we had found out so they would hear it from us that someone initially matching her description had been found," Philyaw said.
Greenville Police Chief Dan Busken plans to hold a news conference at 2 p.m. today to discuss the latest developments.
Anyone with information in this case is asked to contact the Greenville Police Department at 903-457-2900.
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