Teen girls missing after homecoming dance found dead after Jackson County car crash
Two teenagers who never came home after their homecoming dance were found dead late Sunday afternoon in a small community in Jackson County, the sheriff’s office said Monday in a press release.
The girls, identified as Baleigh Bowlin and Chloe Taylor, were in a single-vehicle wreck at the intersection of Mississippi 613 and Lum Reeves Road, Sheriff Mike Ezell said. They were found dead at the scene of the crash.
They were reported missing when they didn’t return from East Central High’s homecoming dance.
A Facebook post from East Central High School on Monday morning stated, “please be in prayer today as we mourn the loss of two students. Please pray for guidance as we navigate these tragedies with our students, faculty, and community.”
Photos of the girls were widely shared on social media on Sunday morning after they were reported missing. Family and friends formed a search party and an uncle of one of the girls found the vehicle in the woods, Jackson County Coroner Bruce Lynd Jr. told the Sun Herald.
Lynd said Baleigh hand Chloe were both 16.
Family members and the community are grieving the loss of the girls described as best friends who were inseparable.
“They were best friends,” Chloe Taylor’s mother, Natalie Mann-Taylor said to the Sun Herald. “Glued to the hip. They loved each other and were always there for one another Baleigh and Chloe were the definitions of high-quality friends. They both are flying and will always be in our hearts.”
East Central High Principal Jim Hughey said extra school counselors and youth pastors were at the school gym Monday morning to offer support for any students who needed help.
“They were outstanding students,” Hughey said of Baleigh and Chloe. “Our community is going to be mourning the loss of them for a while.”
The Mississippi Highway Patrol is investigating.
The Sun Herald will update this story when more information is available.
This story was originally published October 17, 2022 at 10:04 AM.
