Remains identified as those of missing teen
Remains found Jan. 16 near Morris Run in Wayne Township, Greene County, have been identified as those of a missing Star City, W.Va. teen, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Skylar Neese, 16, the daughter of Dave and Mary Earl Neese, was reported missing from James Place Apartments on Crawford Avenue in July.
According to a statement issued by her mother, Skylar came home from her job at Wendy’s in the Glenmark Center, went to bed and was later captured on the apartment complex surveillance video exiting through her bedroom window. She was then seen getting into a vehicle.
Her disappearance continues to be under investigation by the FBI and U.S. attorney’s office, said William Ihlenfeld II, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia.
A cause of death has not been released, and authorities have not indicated whether foul play is a consideration.
Neese’s parents began a campaign last year to pass a bill that would expand Amber Alerts after Skylar was classified as a runaway.
House Bill 2452, also known as “Skylar’s Law,” was passed unanimously by the West Virginia House Judiciary Committee March 6, bringing it one step closer to enactment.
Neese, an honor student from University High School in Morgantown, did not fit all four criteria for an Amber Alert to be issued. They are: a child is believed to have been abducted; is under 18; may be in danger of death or serious injury; and there is sufficient information to indicate the Amber Alert would be helpful.
Skylar’s Law would let police contact the Amber Alert coordinator to let them determine whether there is enough information to warrant an alert.