Pennsylvania

Birth Mother of Abington Teen Found Dead in Northeast Pennsylvania Woods Calls Adoptive Mother ‘Evil'

The birth mother of Abington teen Grace Packer, whose body was found in a wooded area five months after she disappeared, is struggling to comprehend what happened to her daughter in the care of a foster parent.

Rose Hunsicker still has a hard time comprehending that her teenage daughter Grace Packer disappeared five months ago, nevermind that the 14-year-old was found dead in the woods of Northeast Pennsylvania.

Hunsicker, who lost custody of Grace in 2004, cried as she remembered how she only recently found out that the teen girl was missing when police came knocking on her door for DNA evidence.

"She’s never going to get to see her sweet 16," Hunsicker told NBC10. "She’s never going to get to see anything."

Hunsicker called her daughter's adoptive parents, Sara Packer and Packer's ex-husband, David, "evil" people.

Sara Packer has been charged with child endangerment and obstruction of an investigation. She is also a person of interest in the teen's disappearance and death, district attorneys from three counties said at a press conference last week.

The girl's dismembered body was found by hunters Oct. 31.

The adoptive mother was initially held on $200,000 bail, but was released on bail Friday after a Bucks County judge lowered her bail to $10,000.

Grace Packer Body Found Luzerne County
Bucks County District Attorney's Office
Grace Parker's dismembered body was discovered in this wooded area near Francis Walter Dam in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania on Oct. 31, 2016. Her head and torso was found by hunters. The 14-year-old's legs and arms were found later by investigators.

David Packer, Sara's former husband at the time of their adoption of Hunsicker's children, pleaded guilty in 2011 of sexually assaulting a child in Lehigh County.

It remains unclear when Sara and David Packer's marriage ended. At the time of Grace Packer's disappearance July 11, Sara Packer was living with a boyfriend and another female adult in Horsham.

Hunsicker questioned how the entire system could have let her daughter remain in the custody of the adopted mother. Authorities have not yet addressed questions surrounding the social service systems in place in any of the counties where the Packers spent the last decade since their adoptions of Hunsicker's children.

"How dare they act like better parents than I am," Hunsicker said.

It's caused "the horrible death of a little girl that never should have [happened]," she said.

Investigators said it took more than two months for the mother to provide photos of the girl to police. They also said the woman lied about telling other family about the girl's disappearance, according to the criminal affidavit.

Grace was last seen alive on July 4th at a family picnic, relatives said.

Sara Packer, 41, who described the teen as "overly stubborn," said the two had an argument on Friday, July 8 about going to a friend's house, according to court documents. Sara Parker ended the tiff by sending the teen to her room, she said.

Grace Packer Sara Packer orginals
Bucks County District Attorney's Office
Grace Packer (left) was found dead in rural Pennsylvania months after being reported missing from Abington Township. Her mother Sara is being called a person of interest in the disappearance.

The next day, Saturday, July 9, the mother told investigators Grace was nowhere to be found when she went to check on her. Sara also said $300 in cash was taken from the Tennis Avenue home.

Sara reported the teen missing to Abington Township police the following day. A day later, on July 12, a detective began working the case, police said. She spoke with Sara, who promised to drop off photos of the teen at the police department, but then there was radio silence.

For two months, the detective tried to connect with Sara, but heard nothing back. When the investigator went to the family's home on September 7th, she learned they had moved, court documents show.

Grace's 12-year-old brother had also been withdrawn from school and a forwarding address was not given.

The girl's mother made contact with the detective later that day apologizing for not telling her about her move to Bucks County. A letter containing Grace's photos arrived at the Abington Township Police Department the next day, documents show.

Over the following weeks, police made contact with other family members who said they had only recently been told Grace was missing -- contrary to what the mother had told detectives.

Sara Packer Quakertown home
Bucks County District Attorney's Office
Sara Packer moved to this home along E. Cherry Road in Quakertown after reporting her adopted daughter, Grace, missing in July. She moved to the home with her adoptive son.

A typed letter from March was discovered in Grace's school file saying she was "'sorry' for being a burden" and that she was planning to leave, according to court documents. Detectives later determined the text was not consistent with a 14-year-old's writing style.

Investigators also spoke to Grace's friend, whose home she supposedly wanted to visit the day she and her mother had their fight. The girl and her mother said there were no plans to have Grace come over.

While the search for Grace carried on, police said Sara continued to collect a $712 a month Social Security check in the girl's name -- failing to notify the agency that she was missing. Since the girl's disappearance, the mother spent $3,616.03 of the funds, court documents state.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Bucks County Detectives at (215) 945-3100.

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