Rachel Smith
Missing Child
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Recovered; Feb 02, 2007

Police have confirmed that the bodies of two teenage girls found in a car in Loudon County, Va., were identified as missing teenagers Rachel Crites, 18, and Rachel Smith, 16. Authorities ruled the case a suicide and say the cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning.

The search for Crites and Smith was part of a surge of national coverage that followed their disappearance on Jan. 19. After a two week search, the bodies of the two young women were found in a station wagon less than 60 miles away from their Maryland home.

Police had indicated that they did not suspect foul play, and that they were worried about the girls' mental state based on reports from the Crites and Smith families.

The search had centered in part around the area where the girls' bodies were ultimately found. A cell phone call from Rachel Smith had been traced to Shepherdstown, W. Va., and one tip had reported that the girls were seen together on the town's Shepherd University campus.

Rachel Crites' father has issued a statement urging parents to watch for signs of depression in their children.