Pet duck ‘worthy of medal’ leads police to body of missing woman in North Carolina
The body of a woman missing since 2020 was found after a pet duck helped the police reach a breakthrough in the case after two years.
Nellie Sullivan of North Carolina, who would be 93 this year if she were alive, disappeared in 2020 and her granddaughter and grandson-in-law have been under investigation since then.
The suspects, identified as Angela Wamsley, 46 and Mark Alan Barnes, 50, were charged with first-degree murder in the death of the grandmother, the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office announced on 21 April.
The two have been in custody since mid-December 2020, and were charged with several offenses in 2021. Police, however, was unable to find the missing woman to charge them with murder.
But a breakthrough was finally made earlier this month on 14 April when a pet duck escaped its owners and ran under a trailer where police were conducting an investigation in Candler, North Carolina.
In efforts to rescue the bird, the duck’s owner came across the container that had the grandmother’s body, WLOS News 13 reported.
“If I could give that duck a medal, I would,” Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office sargeant Mark Walker told the TV station.
The officers said they “do not have a definitive date when she was killed” but believe she has been dead for “multiple” years.
The sheriff’s office had opened the case after Sullivan’s disappearance was almost immediately deemed “suspicious”.
Detectives had been searching for any signs of Sullivan and had executed numerous search warrants at various locations.
They believe Sullivan was killed at another location before her body was brought to the site where her remains were found.
During the investigation, they discovered Ms Wamsley and Mr Barnes had allegedly continued to collect the grandmother’s benefits checks and continued to have her prescriptions filled.
At first they were charged with animal cruelty and drug possession among various charges, but by 20 December 2021, Mr Barnes was charged with concealing a death while his wife received the same charge on 7 January 2021, said police in their Facebook statement.
In March 2021, the couple was charged with various drugs-related charges, including obtaining a controlled substance by fraud or forgery, trafficking in heroin or opium by possession and felony conspiracy.
The two were charged with first-degree murder after officers attended the post mortem and “made personal observations of the body and spoke with staff”.
Police are yet to determine how and when Sullivan was killed. They will release the official cause of death after an independent probe and medical examination.
Court records show their next court date is set for 13 May.
