Her small body was found dumped in a duffle bag alongside the Salmon River northeast of Lincoln City two-years ago. Nine-year old Hayley Mae Coblentz was a Jane Doe until advanced DNA led to her mother and her spouse who were arrested and charged with the infant’s death three-months ago in Detroit, Michigan. Twenty-eight year old Shawna Browning was identified as her mother and 33-year old Lauren Harrison as Browning’s wife. Browning was the first to be extradited back to Oregon and made a court appearance in Lincoln County at Newport. That’s where things changed. Lincoln Co. District Attorney Lanee Danforth asked the Oregon Dept. of Justice to prosecute the case. They dismissed the charges before presenting the case to a Grand Jury, “pending further investigation.” A spokesperson stated they felt the case needed further investigation before proceeding to presenting it to a Grand Jury. The two women had faced Aggravated Murder charges. On Thursday, March 10, Kurt W. Miller, a senior Assistant Attorney General for Oregon, filed motions to dismiss the charges against both women.
