Anson County detective provides update on unidentified remains

WADESBORO — In response to the speculation and rumors surrounding the discovery of an unidentified skeleton found behind the National Guard Armory back on May 12, 2022, Detective Brian Tice reached out to the Anson Record to provide an update on the case.

“We cannot confirm or deny that foul play was involved but I can tell you we are treating this as a homicide,” shared Tice.

According to the Detective, it is currently unknown if the skeleton found belongs to a man or woman. Information such as a clear cause of death, hair color of the deceased, height, or race, cannot be determined from evidence found at the scene. The only confirmed evidence found was a bra, black in color, and material that may be consistent with a pair of leggings. Tice added, “You know in this day and age clothing is not a determining factor when assigning gender.”

In regards to a gender being determined from remains, www.nature.com, states, “Gender identification based on a single pelvic bone, or the pubic bone, yields gender determination accuracy up to 95%.” There is much discussion in Forensic Pathology circles regarding the usage of a pelvic bone as an identifying marker for gender. Tice was able to confirm that the skeleton found was fairly intact, with the bulk of the bones located in close proximity. Subsequent searches conducted in the area by investigators concentrating on widened perimeters from the location of the remains only yielded an additional few bones, found about 10 feet in diameter from the search area. Detective Tice mentioned that, “No, no large walking stick was found located near the body or during widened perimeter searches of the area.”

When asked how confident investigators are the woman appearing on the trail camera photos is the deceased, Tice answered, “We really don’t know. We cannot say with 100% certainty.”

Detective Tice did share that, “I guess as the crow flies in a straight line the body was found about 1,300 yards from the site of the trail camera.” In the eerie images captured on video, the woman is utilizing a large walking stick and wearing only a bra and leggings. She does not appear to be wearing any shoes that might have helped her navigate the wooded, marshy terrain. The trail camera images date back to August 22, 2021, which was a Sunday that year. There was a full moon on this date. According to www.science.nasa.gov, “The moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from Friday to Monday, making this a full moon weekend.”

Widely connected to the case is a report of rabbit hunters in the area coming across a backpack near the site of the remains and removing money from it before alerting authorities to its existence. Tice is quick to share this is a mistake, saying he is, “not sure how this information was leaked, it is not an accurate account. There was no large sum of money found… no wallet or identification.” While confirming that a backpack was indeed found, he adds that he is “not sure if it is related.”

Information regarding the hunters, the stolen money, and backpack come from the initial website that brought public awareness to the discovery, www.namus.gov.

While investigators cannot rule out the possibility of the remains belonging to an Anson County resident, Tice shared that, “As of 2022 nothing in our database shows anybody missing from Anson County.”

Detective Tice has expressed bewilderment that the public remained unaware of the discovery, saying, “We sent flyers out to various law enforcement agencies in North and South Carolina with images from the trail camera and information about the bones.”

Much online speculation has centered around missing Amber Rae Johnston, a mother who was living in Bullhead City, AZ at the time of her disappearance. The detective in charge of her case, Detective Scott Sharpe, has confirmed that Johnston purchased a bus ticket in Arizona that carried her as far as Winston Salem. Having tracked her ticket purchases, Sharpe reports that Johnston switched up her final destination from Myrtle Beach to her home state of Pennsylvania. The Arizona detective confirms that Johnston did not board the bus to Pennsylvania and has not been seen or heard from since.

Eager to allay public concerns, Detective Tice confirms the “Department is not waiting on confirmation the remains are Amber. We are pursuing leads in Winston Salem.”

An avenue of investigation, suggested by online justice warriors, is where the unidentified woman may have stayed while in Anson County. Tice acknowledges that there are limited hotels in the area but insists area hotel staff was questioned back in 2022.

Detective Tice confirms that Johnston has not been ruled out and the department is working in conjunction with investigators from Arizona, as well as other relevant jurisdictions.

“We are just in a wait and hope pattern until we hear something,” concluded Tice.