Body of woman, 26, found in Baltimore's harbor four days after she vanished on her birthday

A Baltimore woman who was last seen alive on Tuesday leaving a bar with a group of friends after celebrating her 26th birthday was found dead in the city’s harbor three days later. 

The Baltimore Police Department announced in a Facebook post that the body of Tara Payne, known to her loved ones as Savannah, was recovered in the water off of the 1200 block of Dockside Circle in the Canton neighborhood on Thursday. 

Police said they believe Payne may have fallen into the water after a bar outing, but the woman’s friends and family want to get to the bottom of what had happened that night. 

Tara ‘Savannah’ Payne (left and right) was last seen alive leaving a Baltimore bar with friends after celebrating her 26th birthday on Tuesday

Divers recovered Payne’s body off of the Canton neighborhood on Thursday (pictured) 

‘As far as the investigation, I don’t feel it’s wrapped up,’ Payne’s father, Jimmy Payne, told CBS Baltimore. ‘There’s little information that’s confirmed, but there’s a lot of misinformation on Facebook, social media and so forth.’ 

An autopsy will be performed on Payne to determine her cause and manner of death. 

Payne was last seen emerging from Southern Provisions Bar & Kitchen on O’Donnell Street at around 1.30am on Tuesday. 

Kwame Rose, who was at the bar with a separate group, recalled seeing Payne during her birthday festivities. 

‘Everything seemed normal,’ he told WJLA. ‘I remember there were friends….I remember women; that was the thing… There were no random guys there that night.’ 

Prior to her disappearance, Payne was seen emerging from Southern Provisions bar on O’Donnell Street 

Police say they believe Payne may have fallen into the water. An autopsy will be performed to determine her cause and manner of death 

Payne’s aunt said her car was found where she had parked it on Boston Street and her purse was still inside.  

Colin Koogle, a friend of Payne’s, said he is still struggling to understand what went wrong on the night of her birthday party. 

Payne’s father, retired Baltimore firefighter Jimmy Payne, his daughter loved the beach, her brother and the family dog, Taco

‘I don’t know what the hell happened and that right there is not where she should have been,’ he said while pointing in the direction of the harbor where police divers had recovered his friend’s body.  

Payne’s father, who is a retired Baltimore City firefighter, described his daughter as a loving and giving person who shared his passion for the beach, loved her brother and the family dog, Taco. 

‘Everyone loved her and she loved everyone,’ Jimmy Payne said. 

The case is being investigated by the Baltimore Police Department’s homicide detectives, as is customary when there are questions about a missing person.   

Payne’s case is being investigated by the Baltimore Police Department’s homicide detectives, as is customary