PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Nearly a year after her remains were first found, a young girl has been identified as the murdered child found at a Lincoln County rest stop — and her mother is among the two women facing charges.
On December 10, 2020, a person was walking near a rest stop along the H.B. Van Duzer Forest State Scenic Corridor in Lincoln City, a heavily wooded state park. That individual happened upon a duffel bag — with the remains of a child hidden inside of it.
The level of decomposition indicated the child had been dead for 30-60 days at the time, according to authorities. DNA analysis later revealed it was a female child between the ages of 7-9.
Now, just under a year later, the child has been identified as 9-year-old Haley Mae Coblentz.
Two women — the girl’s mother and her mother’s girlfriend — have been arrested for aggravated murder.
“This is just so heartbreaking because no child deserves this kind of ending,” Oregon State Police captain Stephanie Bigman said.
Haley was born in California. Oregon State Police say she was living with her mother and mother’s girlfriend in several places around Oregon and the Pacific Northwest since 2015.
Officials say Haley was not reported missing at the time of her death. OSP did not give details about the manner of her death.
This Tuesday, OSP found Haley’s mother and mother’s girlfriend, 29-year-old Shawna Browning and 34-year-old Lauren Harrison, in Detroit, Michigan with the help of the FBI. Authorities say Browning and Harrison were arrested after investigators served a search warrant on their car and hotel room.
“As a law enforcement officer, you’re horrified and really just want to do everything you can to find those who are responsible for this,” Bigman said.
Both women are now lodged in detention facilities in Michigan on aggravated murder charges. They are being held without bail.