AUSTINTOWN TWP, Ohio — Who? Why?

Those are the questions that torment a family as they plan to bury their young loved one, barely 16 years old.

“This is a horrible thing that happened,” said Jacqueline Bacher of her youngest daughter, Gina Bacher Burger.

“She was such a sweet girl. I just can't put it all together. Why would anyone want to hurt my baby and then throw her away like a piece of trash?”

Gina's body on Wednesday afternoon turned up 40 miles from her home in Austintown, a suburb of Youngstown, at a waste disposal facility in Pine Township, Mercer County, just north of the Butler County line.

It appeared she had been stabbed in the center of the chest, investigators said.

She had no identification with her and state police didn't know who she was for about 24 hours.

Police in Ohio and Pennsylvania identified Gina after reviewing missing persons cases in the area served by Tri-County Industries.

That area includes a large swath of northwestern Pennsylvania — running from northern Butler County to Erie County — and east from Clarion County all the way west to eastern Ohio.

Authorities believe the body was unknowingly dumped at the facility's waste transfer station by one of the company's trucks sometime between late Tuesday night and 3 p.m. Wednesday.

The body was dressed in yoga pants, a black tank top and white ankle socks with green trim. But no shoes.

Those were the same clothes she was wearing when her family last saw her about 8 p.m. June 23.

“The last thing she said to me was, 'Does this shirt match?'” recalled Ashley DiRenzo, Gina's oldest of three siblings.

She left the second-floor apartment, where she lived with her mother, sister, and Ashley's 3-year-old son, to get tea from a neighbor.

“She left in only her white stockings, no shoes, because she was planning to come right back up,” Bacher said.

Gina walked downstairs but never returned.

“It's like she vanished,” Bacher said.

Gina made it to the neighbor's apartment, who as it turned out also was out of tea bags.

By 10 p.m. and no sign of Gina, Bacher and DiRenzo went looking for her, going door to door at the Compass West apartment complex.

“Nobody seen her,” DiRenzo said. “That's what I don't understand. She just disappeared.”

Shortly after the unsuccessful search, Bacher called Austintown police. An officer arrived that night. The next day, the department sent a detective.

“On Wednesday and Thursday,” Bacher said, “it was like detective heaven. There had to have been 15 officers here.”

Growing up in the South

Gina was born in Florida and lived there until she was 12. She later moved to Carrollton, Texas, a suburb of Dallas.

Bacher and DiRenzo relocated to Ohio, and in January 2013 moved into the Compass West apartments, a government-subsidized housing facility with 200 units.

Gina and brother Brandon, who turns 18 in August, remained in Texas with other family.

She attended Creekview High School, where she “made good grades,” Bacher said. She also made numerous friends, according to her Facebook page.

Gina was a typical teenager, her family said.

“She hung out. She liked listening to music, reading and watching movies,” DiRenzo said.

Gina's decision in December to move to Ohio, in part, was because of family issues, said Bacher, who declined to elaborate.

Gina, who completed the 10th grade, had not enrolled in school since her latest move. She planned to start attending Austintown Fitch High School in the fall.

Not going to school put a crimp on her social life, family said.

“She had no friends here,” Bacher said. “She didn't go out much. She just stayed close to her family.”

Gina's other relatives in the Youngstown area included a great aunt and cousins.

“We'd occasionally go out together with some of my friends,” DiRenzo said.

Gina also enjoyed taking walks with her big sister and little nephew at the park near their apartment complex.

By social media, she kept in touch with a few of her friends in Texas.

Despite still getting accustomed to her new surroundings and dealing with the challenges of being a teenager, Gina was “a happy girl,” Bacher said.

She did not do drugs and stayed out of trouble, her mother insisted.

Stunning news

For a good part of Wednesday and Thursday, township police canvassed the apartment complex and searched the area but apparently turned up no immediate clues of Gina's whereabouts.

She was listed as a missing person soon after her disappearance.

In Pennsylvania, investigators worked to identify the body found Wednesday afternoon. State police sent out word to all law enforcement agencies about the discovery and a description of the girl and her clothing.

About 3 p.m. Thursday, following an autopsy in Erie, Austintown police Chief Robert Gavalier received confirmation that the body was that of Gina.

“It was stunning,” Bacher said of getting the news. “We're devastated.”

The family is left to wonder — who? Was it someone living in or passing through the apartment complex?

“We always thought the apartment building was safe,” Bacher said. “Now we're scared.”

“I don't want to live here anymore,” DiRenzo said.

They both recalled seeing a suspicious teenager, between 16 and 18 years old, loitering around the vicinity of their apartment in the days before Gina's death.

They didn't know if he has relatives living at the complex or if he was visiting someone there.

Whatever the reason, he seemed to take a liking to Gina, her family said.

“She thought he was a nice kid,” Bacher said, “but she didn't like him in any other way.”

“Gina talked to him a few times. She just wanted a friend, I think,” DiRenzo said. “I didn't trust him. I got a bad sense about him. It was a gut feeling.”

The family doesn't know if the unknown teen's appearance so close to Gina's disappearance is a coincidence or a connection.

They passed on their suspicions to police.

While waiting for answers, Gina's mother is making funeral plans. Services will be Wednesday or Thursday this week.

Lacking financial resources, the family has set up a memorial fund in Gina's name to cover funeral costs. Any remaining funds will go to support families in similar situations and struggling to pay to bury their children.

The fund was to be established as early as today through PNC Bank. Anyone seeking more information about the fund, or who is interested in donating, can call Kinnick Funeral Home in Youngstown at 330-793-4675.