Cheerleader body found at remote West Texas near lake have been confirmed as those of 13-year-old middle school cheerleader Hailey Darlene Dunn, missing since December of 2010, authorities announced Friday.
The body was found about 20 miles northwest of the girl's hometown of Colorado City. The girl had been the subject of months of intensive searches in and around Colorado City and surrounding fields and landfills after her mother reported her missing on Dec. 28, 2010. More than 100 billboards featuring her picture and information about the case were set up along interstates in Texas and other states.
Fox News carried the April 26 Associated Press report, stating the girl’s remains were found near Lake J.B. Thomas in Scurry County on March 16. Two years have passed since the family reported their daughter as missing. Fox news April 26
The girl's disappearance and the cause of her death remain under investigation, Scurry County Sheriff Trey Wilson said at a news conference Friday.
The girl's mother, Billie Jean Dunn, was informed of the positive identification Friday afternoon at her Austin home, said her attorney, John Young. Funeral arrangements, postponed for an agonizing two years, can now be formally held.
Dunn’s body was found about 20 miles northwest of the girl's hometown of Colorado City.
For months, investigators conducted intensive but fruitless searches in and around Colorado City and the surrounding fields, landfills and abandoned homes.
More than 100 billboards featuring her picture, information about the case and call-in tip line telephone number were set up along interstates in Texas and other states.
According to the mother's boyfriend, Shawn Adkins, the last time either of them saw Hailey was a day before she was reported missing. He said Dunn told him she was going to her father's home, which was nearby, and then planned to spend the night at a friend’s house.
She never showed up to either home.
Authorities had initially named Adkins as “a person of interest,” but he was never charged. Reminiscent of the Casey Anthony case, authorities at one point accused the girl's mother of lying to authorities.
Billie Dunn pleaded no contest in June 2011 to making a false report to law enforcement. For reasons yet unknown, she lied about the location of her boyfriend during the height of the investigation. She received a suspended 90-day jail term with probation.
Hailey's paternal grandfather, Bill Dunn, died in 2011, six months after the girl went missing. His widow, Spicy Dunn of Ponca City, Okla., said her husband spent much of the last months of his life trying to learn what became of his granddaughter.
"He was very, very hurt, and was on the computer all the time looking and trying to find anything that had to do with Hailey," she said. reported on
"It is a relief to know that she's at peace," Spicy Dunn said. "She doesn't have any more suffering."
The body was found about 20 miles northwest of the girl's hometown of Colorado City. The girl had been the subject of months of intensive searches in and around Colorado City and surrounding fields and landfills after her mother reported her missing on Dec. 28, 2010. More than 100 billboards featuring her picture and information about the case were set up along interstates in Texas and other states.
Fox News carried the April 26 Associated Press report, stating the girl’s remains were found near Lake J.B. Thomas in Scurry County on March 16. Two years have passed since the family reported their daughter as missing. Fox news April 26
The girl's disappearance and the cause of her death remain under investigation, Scurry County Sheriff Trey Wilson said at a news conference Friday.
The girl's mother, Billie Jean Dunn, was informed of the positive identification Friday afternoon at her Austin home, said her attorney, John Young. Funeral arrangements, postponed for an agonizing two years, can now be formally held.
Dunn’s body was found about 20 miles northwest of the girl's hometown of Colorado City.
For months, investigators conducted intensive but fruitless searches in and around Colorado City and the surrounding fields, landfills and abandoned homes.
More than 100 billboards featuring her picture, information about the case and call-in tip line telephone number were set up along interstates in Texas and other states.
According to the mother's boyfriend, Shawn Adkins, the last time either of them saw Hailey was a day before she was reported missing. He said Dunn told him she was going to her father's home, which was nearby, and then planned to spend the night at a friend’s house.
She never showed up to either home.
Authorities had initially named Adkins as “a person of interest,” but he was never charged. Reminiscent of the Casey Anthony case, authorities at one point accused the girl's mother of lying to authorities.
Billie Dunn pleaded no contest in June 2011 to making a false report to law enforcement. For reasons yet unknown, she lied about the location of her boyfriend during the height of the investigation. She received a suspended 90-day jail term with probation.
Hailey's paternal grandfather, Bill Dunn, died in 2011, six months after the girl went missing. His widow, Spicy Dunn of Ponca City, Okla., said her husband spent much of the last months of his life trying to learn what became of his granddaughter.
"He was very, very hurt, and was on the computer all the time looking and trying to find anything that had to do with Hailey," she said. reported on
"It is a relief to know that she's at peace," Spicy Dunn said. "She doesn't have any more suffering."