The body found in an abandoned Abingdon house Sunday might not match exactly the reports of local missing persons, but it comes close.
Washington County authorities are exploring the possibility that the body belongs to one of three missing women: two who disappeared in 2007, and one who was last seen more than two years ago.
“All those are being explored,” Washington County Sheriff’s Capt. Jack Davidson said Tuesday.
The woman whose body was found was white, heavyset, between 5 feet 2 inches and 5 feet 4 inches tall, and had blond hair. She was wearing blue jeans, a short-sleeved pullover shirt and white tennis shoes, authorities said.
The description coincides with that of a young woman from Abingdon who was last seen April 4, 2006. Meranda Faith Hayden, who was 26 when she was reported missing, was 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighed 200 pounds, and was last seen wearing blue jeans, a long-sleeve pullover shirt and white tennis shoes, according to a missing persons database managed by the Virginia State Police.
Hayden had a scar on one eyelid and a tattoo of an angel on one of her ankles. But Davidson said it was not immediately possible to determine whether the body found Sunday had a tattoo. Authorities said the body had been decomposing for between four and six months.
Hayden left behind children, and Davidson said in a January interview that “we feel like there may be some criminal involvement in her disappearance.”
Though Davidson said he believes “there’s something up” with the body found Sunday in Abingdon, the time difference between Hayden’s disappearance and the body’s discovery raises doubt that the body is hers.
A woman who answered the phone at Hayden’s family’s house hung up after a reporter identified himself.
Davidson would not immediately name the two individuals reported missing in 2007, and said they “probably won’t be given.” Asked why he would not release the names, he cited a heavy caseload and different priorities.
“Our main priority is to identify this person, and notifying next of kin,” he said.
The missing persons are considered victims, he said, and he would have to check with their families before releasing their names.
Of the two missing women from 2007, Davidson said this: “The physical description of those individuals doesn’t match what we have.”
They could, however, “have colored their hair,” he said.
The body was sent to the medical examiner’s office in Roanoke for an autopsy. Davidson said a deputy traveled to Roanoke on Tuesday to get early autopsy results, but no additional information was released Tuesday night.
dgilbert@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2558
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement