WHITLEY COUNTY - The story of a missing teen came to a tragic end Friday night when investigators from Kosciusko County discovered her body less than a mile from her home.
The body of Kaylin Michelle Doggendorf, 14, was found hidden in brush and bushes on CR 850W, north of Lincolnway, less than a mile from her Pierceton home. Doggendorf disappeared late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning, and her parents reported her missing Thursday morning.
An autopsy was performed on Doggendorf's body Saturday at the Northeast Indiana Forensic Center in Fort Wayne. A report from Whitley County Coroner Scott A. Smith listed Doggendorf's cause of death as "asphyxia due to strangulation and suffocation."
Whitley County police have a suspect in custody, 17-year-old Joshua Wright, from Ridinger Lake. Wright is being held in the Whitley County Jail and had a preliminary hearing at 11 a.m. today in Whitley Circuit Court.
Because police believe Doggendorf was killed in Whitley County, the Whitley County Sheriff's Department will assume jurisdiction over the case.
Doggendorf was last seen by her parents around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. She reportedly was talking with a boy at that time. Cellular telephone and computer records indicate that Doggendorf was up until at least 2 a.m., but when her mother went to wake her around 6 a.m. Thursday, the 14-year-old was not in her room.
Officers from the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department assisted the Whitley County Sheriff's Department in the search Thursday and Friday, and Indiana State Police used airplanes to help with the search Friday afternoon.
Investigation of the incident was a joint effort between the Whitley and Kosciusko County sheriff's departments, the Warsaw Police Department, the Whitley and Kosciusko County coroner's offices and the Indiana State Police.
