Body of girl found hidden in a duffel bag in Oregon woods a year ago is identified as missing nine-year old as child's mom, 29, and her girlfriend, 34, are charged with her murder

  • Shawna Browning, 29, and Lauren Harrison, 34, were charged on Wednesday
  • They are believed to have murdered nine-year-old Haley-Mae Coblentz
  • Oregon State Police said Coblentz's body was found in a bag in December 2020
  • Police revealed Browning to be the victim's mother and arrested her in Detroit
  • Browning and Harrison are set to be extradited from Michigan to Oregon for trial

By David Averre For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

Two women in Detroit, Michigan, have been arrested and charged with murder after the body of a nine-year-old girl was found in a duffel bag in Oregon. 

Shawna Browning, 29, and her 'significant other' Lauren Harrison, 34, were charged on Wednesday after DNA testing of the body revealed her to be Haley-Mae Coblentz, Browning's nine-year-old daughter. 

Her body, which was found in the forest near a rest stop along the H.B. Van Duzer Scenic Corridor in Lincoln County, Oregon on December 4 last year, had been decomposing for over a month according to state police.   

Police Captain Stephanie Bigman said it took the authorities months to work out the identity of the body as Coblentz was never reported missing. 

Meanwhile, both Browning and Harrison are set to be extradited from Michigan to Oregon where they will undergo trial for the murder of Coblentz over one year ago. 

Shawna Browning, 29, has been charged with the murder of her daughter, nine-year-old Haley May Coblentz
Lauren Harrison, 34, is Browning's partner and is also charged with murder

Shawna Browning, 29 (L), and her 'significant other' Lauren Harrison, 34 (R), were charged on Wednesday after DNA testing of a nine-year-old girl's body revealed her to be Haley-Mae Coblentz, Browning's nine-year-old daughter

The body of Haley-Mae Coblentz was found in the forest near a rest stop along the H.B. Van Duzer Scenic Corridor in Lincoln County, Oregon on December 4 last year. It had been decomposing for over a month according to state police.

The body of Haley-Mae Coblentz was found in the forest near a rest stop along the H.B. Van Duzer Scenic Corridor in Lincoln County, Oregon on December 4 last year. It had been decomposing for over a month according to state police.

Coblentz's body was found in a duffel bag in a forest near the coast along the H.B. Van Duzer Scenic Corridor in Lincoln County, Oregon on December 4 last year (pictured: a small green by the H.B. Van Duzer Scenic Corridor

Coblentz's body was found in a duffel bag in a forest near the coast along the H.B. Van Duzer Scenic Corridor in Lincoln County, Oregon on December 4 last year (pictured: a small green by the H.B. Van Duzer Scenic Corridor

'We were able to give her name back to her. She was nameless for so long and then to be able to make the arrest of the people responsible for her death, it's bittersweet,' said Oregon State Police Captain Bigman.

'It gives you some satisfaction, but it doesn't bring her back.'

A statement released on Wednesday by Oregon State Police read: 'Haley was born in Colorado. She was living with her biological mother and mother's girlfriend in multiple places in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest since 2015.

'She was not reported as a missing person at the time of her death.' 

Bigman went on to explain how despite receiving dozens of tips, the police needed to work with Parabon Nano Labs DNA testing lab and the Detroit FBI to find the victim's identity and arrest the suspected murderers.

'[The lab] were able to do some genetic work and give us a bigger breakdown of what she might look like. Really, when they were able to get the genealogy work and narrowed down who she was and give us an actual name, it's just a relief,' said Bigman. 

This composite recreation was released by Oregon State police in their attempts to find Haley Mae Coblentz

This composite recreation was released by Oregon State police in their attempts to find Haley Mae Coblentz

'We were able to give her name back to her. She was nameless for so long and then to be able to make the arrest of the people responsible for her death, it's bittersweet,' said Oregon State Police Captain Bigman (pictured 2017)

'We were able to give her name back to her. She was nameless for so long and then to be able to make the arrest of the people responsible for her death, it's bittersweet,' said Oregon State Police Captain Bigman (pictured 2017)

'This was a very long case, for a long time we were working through all the tips and trying to exclude children off of different lists. But really, once we had her identified, that's when things really started to move and we were able to close in.'   

Oregon State Police said detectives had eliminated more than 60 potential missing children from the case thanks to information provided by National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and public tips, before eventually discovering Coblentz's identity. 

OSP Investigators aided by the Detroit FBI managed to locate Haley’s mother Browning and Harrison in Detroit on November 30 and arrested them before carrying out searches of their vehicle and hotel room. 

Browning and Harrison were arrested on a Lincoln County, Oregon warrant and charged with aggravated murder.

The women are now being held in detention facilities in Wayne County, Michigan, without bail pending extradition to Oregon for trial and sentencing.  

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