Police: Foul play suspected in death of Avon mother
AVON, Ind. (WISH) — Foul play is suspected in the death of Najah Ferrell, a mother from Avon, according to investigators.
The Avon Police Department provided an update to Ferrell’s case on Wednesday afternoon. On Tuesday, it was revealed that remains believed to be Ferrell were located in Crown Point.
APD said the remains were located by two fishermen on an embankment on Monday evening.
Police in Crown Point then contacted police in Avon, who went up to Lake County on Tuesday. Teams are continuing to search in Crown Point. Police said several ponds in the area are going to be searched.
Police said a tattoo on the remains is what connected the findings to Ferrell. APD said two family members identified the tattoo as belonging to Ferrell.
Police believe foul play is involved but are currently classifying the case as a death investigation rather than a homicide. That could change as more information is released.
“As we don’t know much information about what led up to the process of recovering these human remains,” said Avon Assistant Police Chief Brian Nugent, ” the coroner’s office as well as the forensic pathologist are going to be determining at this moment that the manner and cause of death from the remains found yesterday will be classified as undetermined.”
Police say they are confident based on their latest findings that someone knows what happened to Ferrell.
Police say Ferrell has family that live in the northwest part of Indiana but can’t give a specific connection to Crown Point. Prior to remains being found, police were not actively searching the Crown Point area.
Police are asking the public to provide information on the events leading up to Ferrell’s death. Police don’t feel there is a threat to the public.
“Until we attach ourselves to a known piece of information or a declaration from a coroner or from a forensic pathologist on the evidence, I am very careful to cast perspective on the idea that there is a killer loose so to speak,” said Nugent.
Najah Ferrell’s family church released a statement after Najah’s death was confirmed. They say they are praying for support for the family and have set up a fund in Najah’s honor. A GoFundMe has also been set up to support the family.
