NC sheriff asks for public’s help to find why 23-year-old was found dead near Lake Norman
Dental records helped authorities identify remains found near Lake Norman as a missing 23-year-old woman from Winston-Salem, investigators said Thursday.
Why Eileen Michelle Lavery was on the wooded property off N.C. 150 in Terrell remains a mystery, Catawba County sheriff’s investigators said. Duke Energy workers found the remains Tuesday near a creek in woods about 200 yards off N.C. 150, multiple media outlets reported.
“The cause and manner of Lavery’s death remains under investigation,” sheriff’s Major Aaron Turk said in a news release. “Sheriff’s investigators are also working to establish why Lavery was at the Highway 150 property at the time of her death.”
Sheriff’s investigators found items connected to Lavery, Turk said, but he did not disclose in the release what they were.
Winston-Salem Police had listed Lavery as missing, saying she was last seen in March 2023, according to the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office.
Lavery’s dental records were analyzed during an autopsy on Thursday and matched the human remains, Turk said.
Sheriff’s investigators urged anyone with information about Lavery and anything else related to the case to call them at 828-465-8340.
Where was missing person found?
Maps identify the waterway where Lavery was found as Beaverdam Creek in the Catawba County community of Terrell.
TV station footage showed crime-scene tape about a quarter-mile west of Marshall Steam Station, a Duke Energy coal-fired plant.
The Duke Energy workers alerted sheriff’s investigators to the remains about 3:45 p.m., WCCB reported.
Deputies remained in the woods for at least five hours Tuesday night, Charlotte Observer news partner WSOC reported.
A house also appeared to be near where the remains were found, WCNC reported.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
