UPDATE: Police Respond To Critics On Search For Slain Gaithersburg Teen

(Updated at 7:20 p.m.) GAITHERSBURG, MD — The remains found over the weekend near a Springfield, Virginia industrial park are those of a teen who went missing from Gaithersburg and was killed, Fairfax County Police say. Questions are being raised about why Montgomery County Police, who frequently use social media to release photos and information about missing residents, never issued such an alert for Damaris A. Reyes Rivas, 15.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, through an autopsy, has ruled Reyes Rivas' death a homicide, police said Monday night. The teen was reported missing from Montgomery County on Dec. 10, 2016 and her remains found in the 7100 block of Wimsatt Road on Feb. 11 showed trauma to the upper body, police said.

Fairfax County Police said they were helping another jurisdiction with the search for a missing juvenile when they found the remains. A public information officer told The Washington Post that Reyes Rivas had left home willingly; the Post also reported that detectives believe the girl was killed in Fairfax County.

“We were getting reports that she was involved or acquainted with gang activity,” the spokesperson told the newspaper. “We are looking into the possibility that this might have played a role in her death.”

Tuesday afternoon, Montgomery County Police responded to queries about how the department handled the missing person's report for Reyes Rivas. Authorities say the teen was entered as a missing person in the National Crime Information Center database, which is available to law enforcement nationwide. Information about the girl and her photograph were also placed on an internal Montgomery County Police website.

Investigators say Reyes Rivas' mother told them her daughter had left home before and while she was gone, the teen remained in contact with her mother. When Damaris learned her mother made plans to have her daughter live out-of-state with a family member, she left home again on Dec. 10. Detectives contacted Montgomery County Public School officials, along with Damaris' friends to locate her, and monitored her social media account and cell phone, and conducted surveillance of areas she was believed to frequent.

Police say a missing person flyer that included Damaris’ photograph and physical description was distributed in Gaithersburg and part of Fairfax County. The teen’s family shared the flyers on social media, but they weren't shared on the police department's Facebook or Twitter accounts.

Montgomery County investigators are reviewing steps taken in the case, as well as police department practices regarding critical missing persons.

Montgomery County Police Capt. Paul Starks told WUSA9 a missing person report was filed in December with the department, but Reyes Rivas' case was not publicized because her disappearance was not considered critical. That determination is made using criteria from the National Crime Information Center, but one of the center's guidelines says anyone missing under the age of 21 should be deemed a critical missing person.

Police say the teenager used social media, spoke with friends, and replied to a text message from detectives in January, and told her mother she was fine but would not return home. Authorities say the girl likely died sometime last month.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Fairfax County police at 703-691-2131 or you can Crime Solvers electronically by visiting http://www.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org or text-a-tip by texting “TIP187” plus your message to CRIMES(274637).

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