Two Wootton girls found dead

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Two students from Wootton High School who went missing on Jan. 19 were found dead in a dark blue Subaru on Feb. 4 in Loudoun County. Two people who were four-wheeling in the area discovered their bodies.

Almost two weeks of searching ended on Friday, when the bodies of Rachel Samantha Smith, 16, and Rachel Lacy Crites, 18, were found next to each other in the Subaru they were driving. Although the search went on for so long, the girls died less than 60 miles from their homes.

Kraig Troxell, Loudoun Country Sheriffs Officer spokesman, said that the bodies had no obvious signs of trauma, and officials considered their deaths an apparent suicide. More will be known after autopsies are performed, but test for drugs and alcohol will take several weeks to be completed.

Detectives from the Family Crimes Division of the Montgomery County police had released a statement Jan. 22 saying that they were "concerned about the mental state of both girls." Their concerns were due in part to a diary entry made by Crites that, according to WRC-TV, read: "Wherever I end up laying, whether buried or cremated, I want to stay with my true love, buried next to her. This is my choice. I'm sorry."