LUMBERTON, N.C. (WNCN) – Authorities in Lumberton say they don’t believe the case 20-year-old Abby Patterson, who hasn’t been seen for a month, is related to the deaths of three women earlier this year.
UPDATE: FBI steps up efforts to find missing 20-year-old Lumberton woman
“While there is always a possibility, we are 99 percent sure the case is not related to the females this spring and early summer,” said Capt. Terry W. Parker of the Lumberton Police Department.MOBILE USERS: Click here for photos of Abby
Patterson was last seen when she climbed into a brown Buick near East Ninth Street on Sept. 5, Lumberton police said.
Megan Ann Oxendine, 28, Christina Bennett, 32, and Rhonda Jones, 36, were all found dead in an area between East Fifth and East Eighth streets. Bennett’s and Jones’ bodies were found April 18. Oxendine was alive at the time, and was interviewed by CBS North Carolina about the death of her friend, Jones. Oxendine’s body was found June 3.
Bennett’s body was found in a house. Jones’ body was in a trash can. And Oxendine’s body was behind a house.
Investigators have not released how any of the women died, nor have they named any suspects in the deaths.
“We aren’t sure if (the three women’s deaths) are related, but we are considering it,” Parker said in June.
Authorities are offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads them to Patterson.
She’s described by police as standing 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 140 pounds, with brown hair and eyes. She has light skin, with a birth mark on the back left thigh and a bird tattoo on her shoulder, police say.RELATED: Lumberton police ID 3rd woman found dead in same neighborhood
