( CNN ) -- The body of a 16-year-old honor student from North Carolina -- missing since December -- has been found in a Maryland river , her father and police said Thursday . Russell Barnes , the girl 's father , said that a female body found in the Susquehanna River in northeast Maryland is that of his daughter , Phylicia Barnes . It was recovered about 40 miles from where she was last seen , in the city of Baltimore . On Thursday night , Maryland State Police Superintendent Terrence Sheridan and Baltimore Police Commissioner Fred Bealefeld confirmed at a press conference that the body is that of the teenager student from Charlotte , North Carolina . `` All of us , since that fateful day , have been praying and hoping for a different outcome , '' said Bealefeld . `` But unfortunately , we are here today . '' Phylicia Barnes ' body was one of two found Wednesday in the river -- one south and the other north of the Conowingo Dam -- state police said . Her body was recovered around 10 a.m. that morning , less than three hours after people spotted it and flagged down police , said Sheridan . Authorities spotted another body -- which has n't been identified but was described by the superintendent as a black male weighing 240 pounds and standing about 6 feet , 4 inches tall -- floating in water about three to four miles away just before 2 p.m.Wednesday . There were no clothes on either body . `` There 's no other indication of any connection , '' Sheridan said of the bodies , besides the fact both were found in the same river , though he did n't rule out a link . The teenage girl said she was going out to get something to eat and maybe a haircut when she left a residence in Baltimore where she 'd been staying with her half-sister , according to that city 's police . Later , authorities said they feared that Barnes had been abducted or otherwise harmed . She had left her debit card where she was staying , and had n't answered her cell phone since her disappearance , her mother , Janice Sallis , told HLN . Sallis , who described herself as very `` protective '' as a mother , said she was `` stunned '' and `` devastated '' after learning from one of Phylicia Barnes ' siblings `` there was a listing of 20 different guys going in and out '' of where the teen was staying . The mother claimed that the daughter was also allowed to drink alcohol . On Thursday , Russell Barnes said that his daughter did n't know anyone besides immediate family in Baltimore . `` She 's a well-loved individual , with everyone , '' Russel Barnes told HLN 's `` Nancy Grace . '' According to police , Phylicia Barnes communicated through text messages with her half-sister about 12:30 p.m. the day she disappeared . The half-sister 's ex-boyfriend was moving out of the apartment and he saw the teenage girl on the couch around 1:30 p.m . But he said when he came back around 5:10 p.m. , she was not there there . The door was reportedly unlocked , and music was blasting very loudly in the apartment . In January , Baltimore police spokesman Anthony J. Guglielmi said the FBI did a profile on the girl and found no reason that she might run away . She was a good student with no major emotional disturbances in her life , he said . `` The fact set of this case is different than anything else we 've seen , '' he said . Her body was positively identified at the Baltimore city medical examiner 's office thanks to a tattoo on `` her lower extremity , '' said Sheridan . He added there was `` no indication of any overt wounds or injuries , '' nor any indication either body found was weighed down . The superintendent said the bodies may have been dumped much further down the fast-moving river , and said that its cold temperatures may have prevented the bodies from signficantly decomposing for several months . `` The medical examiner has indicated that it 's not out of the ream that the body could have been there '' since December , said Sheridan . `` If you look at that river , look at how fast it 's moving , all sorts of things could have happened . '' Bealefeld , the top policeman in Baltimore , vowed that authorities will `` work as hard now as we 've worked all those days since December 28 . '' A city police spokesman earlier said more than 100 Baltimore police officers , Maryland State Police troopers and FBI agents had been working on the case . `` Our goal is simply to bring closure to Phylicia Barnes ' family ... and hold those responsible accountable , '' Bealefeld said . The girl 's father called the discovery of her body a `` first step '' in providing closure . But he said that the family wo n't be fully satisfied until justice is done . `` We 're still not finished , '' Russell Barnes said . `` We 're going to find out what happened with Phylicia ... There are a lot of answers that we need to find out . '' HLN 's Natisha Lance contributed to this report . Watch Nancy Grace Monday through Sunday starting at 8 p.m . ET on HLN . For the latest from Nancy Grace click here .
NEW : Police say there are no `` overt '' signs of wounds or injuries on Phylicia Barnes . NEW : Hers and another body were found in a river , three to four miles apart . NEW : A top officer says her body could have been in the cold water since December . That 's when she was last seen in Baltimore , where she was visiting her half-sister .