WADESBORO — Certain outcomes can and always will be hard to accept — especially when one is consumed with knowing all the answers. The case of Wadesboro’s Jane Doe is one that has captured the attention of not only Ansonians but now through social media, the world. And it is one that leaves a slew of questions in its wake.

In the case of Jane Doe, whose body was found behind the North Carolina National Guard Armory May 12, 2022, it is hard to envision justice because it is impossible to know what vindication would look like in her case. Life experiences condition us to immediately jump to the conclusion she was murdered. Half-naked woman, barefoot, alone in the woods, and later found dead? Definite foul play there, right?

Maybe.

What we do know is she was last seen alive on a private landowner’s trail camera Sunday, August 22, 2021 in a heavily wooded area behind the armory. In the first set of still images, taken around 1:33 a.m., Jane Doe is moving quickly, the trail camera catching one fleeting image of her moving briskly past a nearby deer feeder. In the next set of images, taken between 4:30 and 4:33 a.m., she is moving slowly, cautiously maneuvering through the dense underbrush with the aid of a walking stick.

Her case has spanned the tenure of two of the county’s sheriffs and several of its detectives, current and former.

Unfortunately, there are very little facts or information to go on in this case.

At the time Jane Doe was found, her body had lain at the mercy of the elements for nine months. According to records, her DNA was not collected at this time, nor was the discovery of her body made known to the public.

The sheriff’s office has never denied mistakes were made in her case initially.

Under Sheriff Scott Howell, Jane Doe’s NamUs [National Missing and Unidentified Person’s System] profile was established, her DNA sent off for analysis, and a new detective assigned to her case.

With the public now aware, and movement occurring in the case, tips to Jane Doe’s identity began pouring in from all over.

Close to home, April Reid, missing from Lenoir and possibly hitchhiking towards Myrtle Beach, became an early contender in Doe’s identity as she fit the body type of the woman on the trail camera and reportedly required a walking stick. Reid was later ruled out by her dental records and remains missing.

Another contender is Amber Johnston who took an ill-fated trip on a greyhound bus to Winston Salem and disappeared from the station. Allegedly, she was headed to meet her ex- boyfriend in Myrtle Beach.

Jane Doe was found still wearing her black Secret Treasures bra and what could be legging-like material wrapped around her lower torso.

The unsettling eeriness of the case keeps Jane Doe’s story alive. Few who have seen her haunting last images can forget we still do not know her name or how she came to be there.

At this point in Jane Doe’s story it is hoped law enforcement can give her back her name and return her to her family.

It seems so simple to get DNA results — we watch the TV “experts” do it in seconds on crime shows — but in real life there is a backlog of cases, each one representative of a family waiting for answers.