Authorities Wednesday confirmed that the body found in a car towed to a Columbia Heights impound lot last week is 18-year-old Brittany Clardy and that her death is being investigated as a murder.
No other details were released, including how the young woman from St. Paul died or if investigators have leads on a suspect. Alvin Clardy, Brittany's father, said Wednesday that police haven't shared much information with the family and that "we are letting them do their jobs." He added they are making funeral arrangements and declined to comment further.
Brittany Clardy left her parent's St. Paul home more than two weeks ago and never returned. She was found Feb. 21 in a car that had been towed from Brooklyn Park to the impound lot. Her body had been hidden inside for eight days.
A family friend who helped Clardy land a job at a child-care program said he was told she left her parents' home Feb. 11 in her mother's car to go to a store. When she didn't return and calls to her cellphone went to voice mail, the family reported her missing.
On Feb. 13, the car in which her body was later found was towed from a Brooklyn Park apartment complex to an impound lot in Columbia Heights by a company that the apartment complex contracts with to remove unauthorized vehicles.
Last Thursday, eight days after the car was towed, her body was found "concealed inside the passenger compartment," according to the Anoka County Sheriff's Office, which is investigating the death, as are police from Brooklyn Park, Columbia Heights and St. Paul.
A news release from Cmdr. Paul Sommer of the sheriff's office Wednesday said they "will not release any details about the cause of death and will not be taking questions to provide further details."
David Chanen • 612-673-4465
