An 11-year-old Alabama girl was found dead Saturday, less than a day after she was reported missing, the Dekalb County Sheriff's Office said. Amberly Barnett was last seen Friday afternoon at her aunt's house in the Mount Vernon community in northeast Alabama, according to the sheriff's office. Authorities found her body at approximately 6:30 a.m. Saturday. They did not release her cause of death. "Due to the current investigation, we are limited on the information we are able to release," DeKalb County Sheriff Nick Welden said in a press release. 11-year-old Amberly Barnett Dekalb County Sheriff's Office Jonie L. Barnett, the girl's mother, wrote in a Facebook post shortly after her daughter's disappearance, "Her phone was left behind and my baby takes it everywhere. Nothing in her phone indicated she was planning to leave!" She also added that her daughter is not the type to run away. In a social media post after authorities found her daughter's body, Barnett wrote, "Amberly life is not the same now you're no longer here, but our love for you is still strong and will remain year after year."<doc-sep>An Alabama sheriff says a man has been arrested and charged with murder after a missing 11-year-old girl was found dead recently near the man's home. DeKalb County Sheriff Nick Welden said in a statement Monday that 33-year-old Christopher Wayne Madison of Collinsville is being held without bond after his arrest on a capital murder charge. Welden says the body of Amberly Alexis Barnett was found Saturday in woods about 200 yards (meters) behind Madison's home. He didn't elaborate, saying "the road to justice for this sweet, innocent little girl is too important to release anything to jeopardize this investigation." Authorities had said the girl was last seen Friday evening at her aunt's home in Mt. Vernon. It wasn't immediately clear if Madison had a lawyer who could comment.<doc-sep>The body of 11-year-old Amberly Barnett was found Saturday. A man is facing a capital murder charge after an 11-year-old Georgia girl was killed and left in the woods behind his Alabama home, officials said. Amberly Barnett was last seen alive on Friday at her aunt's house in DeKalb County, Alabama, reported ABC Atlanta affiliate WSB-TV. Her body was found Saturday in a wooded area about 200 yards behind the home of suspected killer Christopher Madison, DeKalb County Sheriff Nick Welden said at a Monday news conference. Amberly died from strangulation, preliminary results showed, according to Welden. Madison, 33, was charged with capital murder and is being held without bond, Welden said. "My heart is still shattered," Welden told reporters. The sheriff declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation. "I couldn't have asked for a better daughter," Amberly's mother, Jonie Barnett, told WSB-TV in an emotional interview on Sunday. "Nobody should bury their 11-year-old child," Barnett said. "She deserves more than justice. She deserves her life." Welden said in a statement Saturday, "Please keep the family in your thoughts and prayers as we move forward during this tragic event."<doc-sep>Welden did not disclose the relationship between Madison and the girl. “Due to the ongoing investigation and in order not to jeopardize our investigation, I'm not at liberty to disclose any other additional information,” Welden said in the news conference. Amberly’s mother, Jonie Barnett, took to Facebook on Friday night to ask for help to find her daughter. She said Amberly was gone around 6 p.m. when her sister returned home from a trip to the grocery store. Her brother-in-law was working on the property next door. The girl’s cellphone was left behind, which was not typical, Jonie Barnett said. “Anyone who knows Amberly, knows she would not have left without telling me or my sister,” she said. “She's to (sic) scared to get into any trouble.” The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office put out an alert around 1 a.m. Saturday, saying “all hands (were) on deck tonight to bring her home.” The search lasted through the night, extending into Cherokee County, Ala., and into Georgia. Welden said the past few days have been emotional and trying for him and his entire staff. He said his “heart was still shattered,” but he praised his investigators for the way they pulled together and worked to make an arrest in the case. He did not take questions from reporters Monday after reading his statement. “Our main focus is justice for a sweet angel that gained her wings, and that’s where I stand firmly, is true justice,” Welden said. A friend of the Barnett family described Amberly’s death as “brutal, an act of pure evil.” "Nobody should bury their 11-year-old-child," Jonie Barnett told Channel 2 Action News. "Nobody should have hurt her. She deserves more than justice. She deserves her life." Funeral arrangements are being made in Cedartown but have not been announced. Jonie Barnett's graduating class at Cedartown High School set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for the family. As of Monday afternoon, the campaign had raised more than $7,000. — Please return to AJC.com for updates.<doc-sep>
Ala. Girl, 11, Is Mysteriously Found Dead After Vanishing, and Mom Says She Wouldn't Have Run Away In Alabama, the small towns of Mount Vernon and Collinsville are reeling from the death of an 11-year-old girl whose body was found early Saturday morning 12 hours after she went missing. Amberly Barnett of Mount Vernon was reported missing Friday evening at around 6 p.m., triggering an extensive search throughout DeKalb County. People reported seeing a dark-colored SUV outside Amberly’s aunt’s home in Collinsville, Alabama, around the time she disappeared, DeKalb County Sheriff Nick Walden said at a Saturday press conference. Before she was found, Amberly’s mother, Jonie L. Barnett, wrote in a Facebook post that her daughter was not the type to run away. Walden said his agency would not rest until the mystery of Amberly’s death is solved. “I can tell you that we are diligently, diligently pursuing different avenues and — the Lord willing — we will have answers in the upcoming days,” Walden said. “Please keep the family in your thoughts and prayers as we move forward during this tragic event.” Amberly-Barnett-2 Amberly Barnett | Credit: Jonie Barnett/Facebook Amberly’s death has taken an emotional toll on his officers, Walden said. • Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. “And I want to say directly from the heart, being in this career, in this job — the way we do it is 100 percent from the heart and my heart is shattered this day here in DeKalb County, Alabama,” Walden said. At this time, police have not released Amberly’s cause of death or stated it resulted from foul play.