Sheriff Howell
WADESBORO — Regarding the identification of the body located in the Wadesboro woods behind the North Carolina National Guard Armory, Anson County Sheriff Scott Howell has released the following statement;
“On February 13, 2025, Anson County Sheriff’s Office received the following information (in part) from the NC State Crime Laboratory regarding the human remains found near the National Guard Armory in Wadesboro on May 12, 2022.
The North Carolina State Crime Lab has extracted DNA out of the remains and has sent their findings to the Office of Chief Medical Examiner of North Carolina. The Crime Lab and The Medical Examiner’s Office have been working together to get the DNA extracted and prepared to be entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) in accordance with state and national regulations, where regular searches of the DNA results will be performed. Family members of a missing person fitting the description of the person’s images caught on a deer camera in close proximity of where the remains were found have already submitted DNA and those results are also entered into CODIS. A notification will be issued if there is a hit in the database or if the profile is removed from CODIS at any time in the future. The unknown DNA is also documented in NamUs. NamUs is a missing persons agency that also tries to help families and law enforcement identify remains in missing person cases nationwide.
On February 13, 2025, an Anson County investigator spoke with Clyde B. Gibbs of the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office. According to Gibbs the DNA would be compared to the DNA in CODIS provided by the family of Amber Johnston. Mr. Gibbs was unable to provide a timeline for the comparison to be completed and suggested we contact the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Attempts to contact Minnesota have been unsuccessful. One resource has said it still could take up to six more months before any results could be determined. The DNA extracted from the remains will be entered into CODIS under the category as an “unknown contributor” until a confirmed identification is made. Sheriff Howell asks anyone with information in this case or any criminal activity to please contact the Anson County Sheriff’s Office at 704-694-4188.”
