Alisha Watts has been missing since July 16.
Authorities believe they have found the remains of 39-year-old Allisha Watts, a North Carolina woman who has been missing for more than a month.
Watts’ boyfriend, James Dunmore, was arrested Thursday for the murder, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said.
“It’s not the conclusion we were hoping for, but by finding Alisha today … I hope and pray it brings some closure for family and friends to move forward,” Sheriff Pete Herron said at a news conference.
Watts was last seen on July 16 in Charlotte. Two days later, Watts’ Mercedes was found in Anson County, southeast of Charlotte, police said.
Watts’ sister, Stephanie Johnson, told ABC News the 39-year-old was last seen with Dunmore, her boyfriend of a year, on July 16. The couple met when Watts, who lives in Moore County, North Carolina, was traveling to Charlotte to visit his cousin, who was Dunmore’s neighbor, Johnson said.
Johnson described her sister, who worked in the mental health field, as a “hard-working, independent, reliable, resourceful, loving, kind, caring person.”
It was not immediately clear where in Montgomery County the remains were found. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said Thursday that “this case is no longer considered a missing person investigation.”
“It’s not what we prayed for,” Watts’ friend Dorothy Brower told reporters Thursday. “She was found, but that’s how we wanted to find her. She did not deserve what became of her fate. To get rid of one of the best people you could ever meet.”
Brower said Dunmore’s “life would have been better with her — but here it is. … I’m angry.”
“We miss her so much,” he said. “There’s a void.”
