On Tuesday, a body was found that reportedly matches the description of a Virginia woman who was abducted a week earlier as she worked.
Northumberland County police said in a Facebook post that a body believed to be Ahreal Smith, 28, was found on a property in Heathsville. An autopsy will be performed to make a positive identification and to determine a cause of death.
On Saturday, Tyrone Samuel, 50, was charged with abducting Smith, who was last seen closing Claraville Little Sue Store in Heathsville, where she works as a clerk. Police said Samuel and Smith know each other but they were not in a relationship.
Smith’s sister told NewsNationNow that before she vanished on January 12, she texted her about a suspicious person outside of the store.
“She said that someone at the door made her feel uncomfortable,” the sister said. “She never really said a name, but she said that someone, you know, made her feel uncomfortable.”
Moments before her disappearance, surveillance cameras reportedly filmed Smith leaving the store to start her car. Minutes later, she was spotted getting into another car and getting out. She was then filmed returning to the store to turn on the alarm.
Smith was last seen locking the front door and picking up a bag of garbage on the porch. Cameras reportedly filmed her bringing the trash to the dumpster, before she goes out of frame.
A day-shift clerk reportedly discovered Smith’s car — which was running — parked in front of the store the following morning. A K-9 unit tracked her scent from the dumpsters she was last seen at to Walnut Point Road, where it continued for 100 yards before stopping, according to reports.
The driver of the car Smith briefly got into was questioned and determined not to be a person of interest.
Northumberland County police said additional charges will be filed in light of Tuesday’s discovery.
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[Featured image: Ahreal Smith/Provided]
