Bayleigh Bowlin and Chloe Taylor: Teens who disappeared after homecoming dance found dead inside car

HURLEY, MISSISSIPPI: Two East Central High School juniors - Bayleigh Bowlin and Chloe Taylor - both 16 were reportedly discovered dead by one of the girl's uncle in an overturned car on Sunday, October 16 evening in southeast Mississippi. The teens were initially declared missing when they didn't return home after their homecoming dance on Saturday, October 15.

According to the Sun Herald, the uncle noticed a missing stop sign on Lum-Reeves Road at the intersection of Highway 613 in Hurley, Jackson County, and after investigating the area, he reportedly discovered the girls dead in the crashed car while they were still strapped in their seats. Mississippi Highway Patrol Trooper Calvin Robertson said the preliminary investigation indicates that Chloe was the driver when the car went off the road, slammed into an embankment, and struck a tree. 

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Authorities have determined that the car overturned into the bushes and was concealed from view from the road and there were no other automobiles included during the tragic event. Coroner Bruce Lynd Jr pronounced both adolescents dead at the site. 

The girls' families are devastated by the unfortunate incident, with Chloe's mother Natalie Mann-Taylor writing on Facebook, “My heart., my world, my best friend was taken from me yesterday.” She continued, “It doesn’t seem real. I’m praying I wake up from this nightmare and she walks through those doors. Why was my baby taken from me? Why her? I never expected as a parent I would have to go through this much heartache.”

She also shared a few memories about Chloe and Baleigh with the Sun Herald. “They were best friends,” Mann-Taylor said. “Glued to the hip. They loved each other and were always there for one another. Bayleigh and Chloe were the definitions of high-quality friends. They both are flying high and will always be in our hearts.”’

East Central High School officials also posted a message on social media regarding the teenager's death on Monday morning, October 17. The school wrote, “Please be in prayer today as we mourn the loss of two students. Please pray for guidance as we navigate these tragedies with our students, faculty, and community."

Additional school counselors and youth pastors were present in the school gym on Monday morning, according to East Central High Principal Jim Hughey, to provide assistance to any students in need. “They were outstanding students,“ Hughey said of Baleigh and Chloe. “They were both involved in art. Our community is going to be mourning the loss of them for a while.”

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