Shelbyville Police investigate the death of a 16-year-old girl

SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Investigators in Shelbyville are racing to figure out how a 16-year-old girl ended up dead.

Sixteen-year-old Maria Gaspar had run away from home on June 29, according to police. Her body was found on the side of the road just days later.

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“Unfortunately, we received a call out on Nashville Dirt Road on July 8 of human remains being found on the side of the road,” Detective Lt. Cody Swift with the Shelbyville Police Department said.

They don’t know why she left, but said that she had done this before.

“She was seen at her house and then the mother came home and she was gone,” Swift said.

Officers said that a person walking down Old Nashville Dirt Road found Gaspar’s body in a ditch. This investigation is head-scratching for law enforcement.

“We’re still actively investigating and we were extremely behind the eight ball on this, so we’re trying to move forward and gather what we can,” Swift said.

Police say there aren’t cameras close to where Gaspar was found. As of publlication, they’re waiting for the medical examiner to tell them how she died. Officers added that her body was too decomposed to tell if there was trauma.

Shelbyville Police told News 2 that Maria’s case is in the forefront of their minds. They’re hoping to bring closure to her family.

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“With any death investigation, it has an effect on you,” Swift said. “But when it’s a child — most of us have children back here. It does affect us.”

We reached out to Maria’s family. They didn’t want to talk on camera but police are hoping anyone with information about Maria will speak up.

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