A woman from North Carolina has tragically been found dead in the woods after she was seen on a camera getting into a stranger’s car.
Heather Williams, who had cognitive impairments, was recorded on a Ring doorbell camera leaving her Fayetteville home around 10:00PM on January 4.
Footage showed her entering a “light-colored sedan with a sunroof,” according to the Fayetteville Police Department.
Authorities launched a missing person investigation and issued an endangered person alert on January 7, citing Williams’ cognitive challenges.
Tragically, her body was found three days later in a wooded area approximately five miles from her last known location.
Police are treating her death as a homicide.
The statement from Fayetteville Police read: “On Friday, January 10, 2025, during a follow-up to the investigation of a missing and endangered person Fayetteville Police Department Detectives were led to a wooded area near Newark Ave and State Ave.
“There a deceased individual was located. The decedent has now been identified as Heather Williams, W/F, 25 years old. Her next of kin has been notified.
“The Police Department’s Homicide Unit has assumed the investigation. This remains an active investigation.”
Williams’ sister, Mary Williams, wrote a Facebook post on Saturday in honor of the 25-year-old.
“It is with a heavy and broken heart that our family confirms the horrific news,” she said. “I pray whoever is responsible for this is held accountable and there is justice for Heather.”
Mary told WRAL that the family did not recognize the driver of the vehicle Heather entered.
She also shared that her sister had limited speech and mobility due to injuries sustained in a 2015 car accident.
“She was just so trusting and naive to what the dangers were out there,” Mary explained, adding that her sister may have connected with the individual online.
Later that same day, police located the suspect’s vehicle, but no arrests have been made. Investigators confirmed to CBS 17 that they are pursuing leads but have not yet identified a suspect.
“I just ask that people out there, if they hear anything or if they see something… somebody knows something,” Mary urged in her interview with WRAL.
“Somebody’s talked to somebody, somebody has… they slip up along the way. Somebody’s got to know something.”
Mary also expressed her family’s ongoing pain and concern for community safety.
“What happened to Heather is awful, and I wouldn’t want it to happen to anybody else. With that person still out there, still able to harm other people, it’s horrific to think about,” she told CBS 17.
Despite their grief, Mary said the family finds solace in Heather’s faith.
“We’ve found comfort in the love that Heather had for God. Through all her trials and tribulations, she never lost her faith, and I know we won’t lose ours either.”
Anyone with information has been urged to contact Fayetteville police Detective E. Alrafai at (910) 723-0327 or Crimestoppers at (910) 483-TIPS (8477).
