UPDATE
MARCH 2025:
The Anson County Jane Doe has been identified as 26-year-old Amber Rae Johnston. The identification was made via DNA analysis, with the news confirmed by Amber’s mother, Sharon Johnston.
Prior to her disappearance, Amber had broken up with her boyfriend, Jarett Ward. According to Ward, he left his ex-girlfriend in Bullhead, Arizona, while he went to Las Vegas, Nevada, to get a Greyhound bus ticket to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. From there, he planned to return to his hometown, which was near the popular tourist town.
The pair allegedly had a tumultuous relationship, with a friend reportedly showing Sharon texts where her daughter revealed Ward was physically abusive to her. The pair had also struggled with substance abuse issues, for which Amber was wanting to receive help.
On August 16, 2021, Amber left Bullhead for Myrtle Beach, reportedly to meet up with Ward. This was the last time she was physically seen. She posted a video to her Facebook profile two days later, showing her on a bus. But after this, she was never heard from again.
The case remains under investigation, with the authorities looking into the circumstances surrounding Amber’s death and how she wound up in North Carolina.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
DISCOVERY:
On May 12, 2022, skeletal remains were found during a land survey of a wooded area in Wadesboro, Anson County, North Carolina, behind the National Guard Armory.
AUTOPSY:
According to the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner’s Office, the decedent had been dead for a few months, up to a year. A cause of death hasn’t been released.
DETAILS:
Jane Doe is described as a 33-to-50-year-old White female who stood between 5’3″ and 5’11”. Given the state of the remains, her weight, along with her hair and eye colour, couldn’t be determined.
A few items of clothing were found on or near the decedent, including deteriorated fragments of pantyhose/leggings and a black Secret Treasure-brand bra, size 34C.
Many believe Jane Doe could be a woman who was captured walking past a hunter’s trail camera on August 22, 2021, over eight months before the remains were discovered. The camera, which was set up at a deer baiting station, captured the unknown female at 1:33 AM and 1:34 AM. While she’s barely visible in the first image, she can’t be seen at all in the second, leading some to speculate she may have been running at the time.
Three more images were captured several hours later, between 4:30 AM and 4:33 AM. In these shots, the woman is moving slower, with a noticeable limp. In all the camera stills, she’s only wearing a bra and leggings.
In February 2022, rabbit hunters found a backpack, near where the remains would be found. They removed some cash, before leaving the bag behind. It couldn’t be located a few months later.
RULE OUTS:
- April Michelle Reid, who went missing from Hickory, North Carolina, on February 27, 2021.
CASE CONTACT INFORMATION:
Anyone with information regarding the case and/or Jane Doe’s identity is asked to contact the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner’s Office at (704) 336-2005.
Image Credit: NamUs/Unidentified Wiki
Stories of the Unsolved 