Body found in East Hartford; family of missing South Windsor woman came to scene

Olivia Regen, Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
·2 min read

May 21—A body believed to that of a missing South Windsor woman was carried out of a wooded area in East Hartford by medical examiner's staff on Friday afternoon.

The family of the woman arrived in an East Hartford neighborhood that had multiple police forces there, then quickly left.

State police, along with and East Hartford and South Windsor police departments, are in a neighborhood that backs up to a wood area at Driver and Chipper roads. The area, which leads to the Hockanum Reservoir, is blocked off in front of the woods by police.

The family of Jessica Edwards showed up about 1:30 p.m. Her sister, Yanique, had a brief meeting with two police officers. After a short conversation, she knelt to the ground with a grief-stricken look on her face.

A few minutes later, other family members arrived. The family hugged and then left in two cars. The medical examiner's employees arrived after the family had left

Police remain at the scene.

South Windsor Sgt. Mark Cleverdon said there would be a press conference at the South Windsor Police Department to update the public on the search for Edwards, a 30-year-old mother of an infant.

Jessica Edwards lived in the South Windsor Cinnamon Springs condominium with her husband, Tahj Hutchinson, and their 8-month-old son Jayden.

She disappeared without a trace. Yanique Edwards has led an active community search for her sister, including sweeping an area near Burnham Street in East Hartford this week.

Police have said that the timeline is unclear exactly when Edwards disappeared. Cleverdon said earlier this week that police are not ruling out foul play, and a search conducted Friday and Saturday with the State Police Major Crimes Squad of the couple's condo and three cars resulted in the collection of evidence that they said is "beneficial."

Yanique said the last time she saw her sister was at 11 p.m. on Mother's Day, May 9. An email was sent around 2:30 a.m. May 10 from Jessica's account to her professor saying she would not be in the class that day at Hartford Hospital where she is a clinical training student in respiratory care. Hutchinson told police the last time he saw Jessica was between 6:30 and 7 a.m. that morning. He reported her missing later that day.

For more coverage of East Hartford and South Windsor, follow Olivia Regen on Twitter: @OliviaRegen, Facebook: Olivia Regen JI, and Instagram: @ORegenJI.

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