Heather Williams, who had cognitive impairment with limited speech after a car accident, was last seen on January 4 -- before her body was found six days later, with family suspecting she met up with someone she met online.
A family is hoping for answers after a North Carolina 25-year-old woman was found dead in the woods, six days after she disappeared.
Heather Williams vanished on January 4, 2025, after she was last seen around 10pm in home surveillance footage leaving her Fayetteville home and getting into a 4-door sedan with a sunroof.
At the time, she was wearing gray sweatpants and a dark colored shirt; she wasn't seen alive again. The video can be viewed below:
After the Fayetteville Police Department issued a Missing and Endangered Person alert about Williams -- who was "considered endangered due to suffering from cognitive impairment with limited speech" and a limp following a 2021 car crash -- authorities announced the worst six days later.
"During a follow up to the investigation of a missing and endangered person Fayetteville Police Department Detectives were led to a wooded area near Newark Ave and State Ave," they confirmed last Friday. "There a deceased individual was located. The decedent has now been identified as Heather Williams."
The homicide unit has since assumed control of the investigation, which remains active. Family members told WRAL that authorities have identified a person of interest, though no information has been released publicly and no arrests have been made.
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View StoryHer family said they believe she was possibly meeting up with someone she met online.
"Her being out there at night time alone, it was a dangerous situation for her to begin with," Heather's sister, Mary Williams, told the outlet. "Over the years, she's worked really hard, you know, just having a normal life and do normal things that 25-year-olds do, but she was loving and she loved her family and she love Jesus."
"I just ask that people out there, if they hear anything or if they see anything, you know, somebody knows something, somebody's talked to somebody, somebody has, you know, they slip up along the way," the victim's sister continued. "So somebody's got to know something. and, you know, i just pray that whoever does know anything comes forward and that we're able to get justice for Heather."
Authorities confirm they did locate the vehicle Williams was seen getting into and no longer needed the public's assistance locating it.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation has been asked to contact Detective E. Alrafai at (910) 723-0327 or Crimestoppers at (910) 483-TIPS (8477).