DANBURY, N.C. (WGHP) — A Stokes County man has been charged with murder months after human remains found on his property were identified as a missing woman, according to a Stokes County Sheriff’s Office news release.
In Aug. 2018, Sarah Hill was reported missing from Patrick County, Virginia. The investigation led detectives to Surry County where the Surry County Sheriff’s Office checked several different places but did not find Hill.
Some of the information investigators received led them to believe Hill had been at the home of 61-year-old Leroy Hoover on Asbury Road in the Westfield community of Stokes County at some point.
On Oct. 17, 2022, detectives with the Surry County Sheriff’s Office and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation reached out to the Stokes County Sheriff’s Office for help.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for the property on Asbury Road, specifically to search for any information on the whereabouts of Hill that could be found on the property.
During the search, investigators excavated a particular area where human remains were found and collected for the medical examiner to process.
An autopsy was ordered and completed, and the remains were identified as Hill.
On Oct. 4, the Stokes County Sheriff’s Office received the official medical report from the autopsy ruling the death of Hill as a homicide.
Once the medical report was received, a Stokes County Sheriff’s Office official and agents with the NCSBI met with the district attorney to present the case for review.
After reviewing the evidence, Hoover was charged with one count of murder and one count of concealment of death.
Hoover is currently in the Stokes County Jail with no bond.
He also has other cases also pending in Stokes County.
“We can only imagine how hard this has been for the family of Ms. Hill. Investigators from the Patrick County Sheriff’s Office (VA), Surry County Sheriff’s Office, Stokes County Sheriff’s Office, as well as the NC SBI agents that worked on this case have done a tremendous job, and they never gave up. Although nothing will bring a loved one back, we can only hope this helps provide some closure to Ms. Hill’s family,” Stokes County Sheriff Joey Lemons said.
