Foul play ruled out in case of missing woman

CUMMING - A Forsyth County woman, missing for a week, who was found Tuesday afternoon at Buford Dam Park had apparently been at the park the whole time she was missing and investigators say she was not the victim of foul play.

66-year-old Anne Marie Barker was found about 3:00 by U.S. Corps of Engineers park rangers. Capt. Frank Huggins of the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office said she was sitting on a bench.

"When questioned by the park rangers, Ms. Barker identified herself to them. The park rangers recognized the missing woman from a bulletin they had received from the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office."

Barker was taken to Northside Hospital, Forsyth in Cumming. She is reportedly in good condition, Capt. Huggins said, and has been reunited with her family.

After talking with Barker, investigators say no foul play was involved in the disappearance. "It is believed Ms. Barker had been at the park since Wednesday," Huggins added.

At the time Barker was located, a team of officers from the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office were searching a wooded area near Oxford Summit apartments, where Ms. Barker lived, on Ronald Reagan Boulevard in Cumming.

"They had been searching for a couple of hours using four-wheel all-terrain vehicles, horses and cadaver dogs from the Dawson County Sheriff's Office before Ms. Barker was located at the park," Huggins said.

Barker had been reported missing by her daughter on Oct. 6 when she had gone to her mother's apartment and could not locate her. Barker's purse, cell phone and vehicle were still at the apartment. She had last been seen the previous day at a nearby Wachovia bank making a routine transaction.

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