OAKLAND — Police here have identified a woman whose badly burned remains were discovered under Interstate 580, five days after he last definitive sighting, and police are investigating her death as a homicide.
Bailey Kristin Barnett, 22, was killed, dumped and her body set on fire under I-580 near Hollis Street, along the Emeryville/Oakland border, according to police. Barnett was staying at a transitional home in Oakland when she was reported missing, with her last known contact with anyone on July 22.
Her body was found five days later, on July 27, in such a damaged state that police were forced to rely on DNA testing to confirm her identity. Authorities say they’re investigating several leads, including texts found on Barnett’s phone the day she went missing from a man that she had apparently just met.
“How are you its the guy from yesterday,” one of the texts read, authorities said.
Police haven’t released Barnett’s cause of death.
Barnett’s body was discovered by a California Highway Patrol officer, as part of a routine inspection after an encampment was cleared from the area days earlier, authorities said. The CHP has declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.
Anyone with information can call CHP’s investigations line at 707-917-4491.