Body Identified Of Suspected Arundel Mills Shoplifter Found In Pond
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- Police in Anne Arundel County have identified the body of a shoplifting suspect pulled from a pond near Arundel Mills Mall.
Police identified the body recovered as 26-year-old Tavon Talley, of Baltimore.
The incident unfolded shortly before 9 p.m. Monday. Firefighters and paramedics responded to the 7000-block of Arundel Mills Circle In Hanover. First responders were informed by mall security that they witnessed an adult male enter a three-acre sediment pond on the northwest corner of the parking lot and not surface.
Immediate efforts by firefighters to locate the individual were unsuccessful. Divers were then placed into the water.
Further investigation revealed that Talley was a shoplifter from a store inside of Arundel Mills Mall, who fled on foot from pursuing Mall Security officers. Mall Security personnel observed the shoplifting suspect enter the sediment pond and begin to swim.
Police say mall security urged the individual to return to the side of the pond and discontinue swimming, but he failed to do so. At one point, the individual appeared to dive head-first down into the pond and he never resurfaced.
Once the police and fire were notified, a significant rescue effort took place. Multiple resources from both agencies were deployed in an effort to locate Talley, who was found dead underwater near the middle of the pond.
A forensic examiner responded to the scene and found no trauma to the body. The Office of The Chief Medical Examiner completed an autopsy of Talley and found no suspicious indicators. The examiner says the cause of death appears to be an accidental drowning pending toxicology results.
A second person with Talley at the time of the shoplifting, 26-year-old Tani Turner, was charged with theft.
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