A car belonging to a woman who disappeared over two weeks ago with her fiance was found in a marshy area with two decomposing bodies inside, but police still have little answers on what happened.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, police discovered two bodies on Monday, inside a grey 2013 Dodge Dart, off of Independence Blvd. and River Road in Wilmington, North Carolina. The vehicle matched the description of a car belonging to Paige Escalera, one of two recently engaged women who hadn’t been seen since April 15.
In a Facebook post, the Wilmington Police Department said the bodies were too badly decomposed for immediate identification. Although the women still have not been positively identified, authorities believe they found the bodies of Stephanie Mayorga, 27, and Escalera.
Wilmington officials also believe that the women died after an “extremely high velocity crash.”
“While the investigation continues, police believe the car may have been involved in an extremely high velocity crash. 911 records show that on April 15, police, fire, and EMS were dispatched to this area just before midnight,” Wilmington PD posted on Facebook.
A driver in the area on the night in question called 911 and said it appeared that the car smashed into a wall after speeding.
“This is like really serious,” the 911 caller.
“There’s a stop sign. The car didn’t stop at the stop sign and kept driving so fast. I was seeing it with my back mirror. I was already passed the car, you know? And I was seeing it with my back mirror. The car smashed the wall there.”
Police and EMS showed up to the scene but after searching, couldn’t find anything. According to WECT News 6, authorities were not notified that the couple had disappeared until April 19, several days after the crash.
Wilmington Police Department said investigators were still working to determine what happened. It remains unclear how long authorities remained on the scene looking for the car after the 911 call.
Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Police Handout]
