Remain Found Possibly Missing Female Michelle Bullard(BODY FOUND)

[nonesuche]

http://www.wral.com/news/10114392/detail.html


Human Remains Could Be Missing Lee Co. Woman

POSTED: 4:12 pm EDT October 19, 2006
UPDATED: 12:49 am EDT October 20, 2006

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Cumberland County authorities and the State Bureau of Investigation are investigating the discovery of a set of human remains found Wednesday, which could be those of a 23-year-old Lee County woman who has been missing since January.

Karen Riojas, the mother of Michelle Bullard, told WRAL that the remains were found in an old cemetery near the Cedar Creek community in Fayetteville. Residents who live in the area said the remains were found by a hunter.

Bullard, authorities say, was kidnapped on Jan. 2 while visiting friends. They say a masked gunman entered the home where Bullard was staying, robbed them and took Bullard at gunpoint.

Riojas told WRAL that she received a call from Lee County authorities on Wednesday telling her that the remains could be those of her daughter. The remains were found close to where Bullard's wallet and purse had been found in an earlier search.

Cumberland County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Debbie Tanna said the remains were found near the intersection of Tabor Church and Johnson roads at about 1 p.m. Wednesday. Investigators have not been able to positively identify the remains and have not been able to determine whether they are those of a male or female.

Forensic experts and medical examiners were at the scene Thursday afternoon investigating, and DNA tests will determine whether the remains are those of Bullard's.



Sky 5
Investigators canvass an area of land Thursday near the Cedar Creek community in Fayetteville. Authorities say hunters discovered human remains there on Wednesday afternoon.
 

For months, investigators and volunteers from more than a dozen agencies have searched for Bullard in several counties. Investigators have also followed dozens of leads, none of which have turned up much information about her disappearance.

"We've never given up on finding Michelle," said Jackie Cox, director of the North Carolina Missing You Foundation, an organization that headed the previous search in which Bullard's belongings were found. "It's bittersweet. The family needs some closure."

The past 10 months have been an agonizing time for Bullard's family members, who have organized searches and vigils in hope of finding clues to Bullard's whereabouts.

"I won't give up any hope until I'm told differently," Riojas told WRAL during a prayer vigil for her daughter in February. "We have not lost hope. We are still very, very hopeful that Michelle will have a safe return back to us."

Riojas would not comment publicly on the latest developments but described the past 10 months as a nightmare and the past day or so as nothing short of a torture.

Authorities have not named any suspects in the case, but earlier this year, they did identify a Lee County man as a person of interest who they said loosely fit the description of the home-invasion assailant.

That man, David Wilson, committed suicide along a Harnett County road hours after Bullard was reported missing. The two incidents occurred within six miles of each other. The remains found Wednesday were discovered on land near property owned by Wilson's brother.

Early in the investigation, detectives took surveillance video from a local convenience store to examine whether it showed Wilson and Bullard inside the store the night before Bullard's disappearance, but authorities have never connected him to Bullard.

Wilson's relatives have said that circumstances surrounding Bullard's disappearance and Wilson's suicide were merely a coincidence and hope the latest developments in the case will clear Wilson's name.

"I'm hoping they can find out what happened to her, and they can get some DNA and figure out my brother didn't have anything to do with it," said William Wilson, David Wilson's brother.

Bullard is 5 feet 2 inches tall, weighs about 125 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. A $10,000 reward is being offered to anyone who has information leading to her recovery.

Anyone with information that may help investigators solve the case is urged to contact the Lee County Sheriff's Office at 919-775-5531 or local law enforcement.

Previous Stories:
April 10, 2006: 100 Days Later, Still No Leads To Michelle Bullard's Whereabouts
March 13, 2006: Autopsy Offers No New Info About Lee County Woman's Disappearance
February 9, 2006: Missing Lee County Woman's Mother 'Won't Give Up Hope'
January 30, 2006: Purse, Wallet Latest Items Found In Search For Missing Lee County Woman
January 26, 2006: Lee County Woman Unlikely To Be Found Alive, Profiler Says
January 24, 2006: Lee County Woman's Disappearance Still A Mystery
January 23, 2006: Vehicle Among Latest Items Recovered In Search For Missing Woman
January 22, 2006: Authorities Find More Belongings Connected To Missing Lee County Woman
January 21, 2006: Belongings Of Missing Lee County Woman Found
January 20, 2006: Volunteer Search For Missing Lee County Teen Set For Saturday
January 14, 2006: Searchers Keep Hope Alive In Search For Lee County Woman
January 10, 2006: Investigators Probe Links Between Missing Woman, Suicide Victim
January 9, 2006: Search For Lee County Woman Leads To Few Answers
January 7, 2006: Family: Lee County Man's Suicide 'Coincidental' In Case Of Missing Woman
January 5, 2005: Investigators Go Back To Pond During Search For Lee County Woman
January 5, 2006: Mother Of Missing Lee County Woman Asks Public For Help
January 3, 2006: Authorities Now Tightlipped In Lee County Kidnapping Investigation
January 2, 2006: Woman Allegedly Kidnapped In Lee County Home Invasion

[MumInOhio]

ID'd Remains End 9-Month Search For Michelle Bullard

Posted: Oct 23, 2006

SANFORD, N.C. — Skeletal remains found in rural Cumberland County Wednesday afternoon are those of a 23-year-old Lee County woman missing for nearly 10 months, according to authorities.

Lee County sheriff's spokesman Kevin Bryant said Saturday that Michelle Bullard's identity had been established through DNA tests, but the cause of death had not been determined.

Bullard went missing Jan. 2, when an armed, masked man broke into the home where she was watching television with three friends in Broadway, authorities said.

The intruder bound the friends with tape and left each in a separate room, then stole cash and small valuables. When they freed themselves, Bullard and the intruder were gone.

Hundreds of volunteers helped state and local law enforcement agencies search for Bullard in three counties and more than 1,000 miles. Her wallet and purse were found a few weeks later on a roadside in southeastern Cumberland County.

A hunter found the remains in an old cemetery near the Cedar Creek community in Fayetteville, nearly five miles from where Bullard's belongings had been recovered.

Karen Riojas, Bullard's mother, told WRAL that she had been holding out hope that her daughter was still alive, but was prepared for the possibility that the remains were her daughter's.

"It has definitely been a devastating, horrific, torturing year for me and my family," Riojas told CNN's Nancy Grace earlier this week.

Authorities have not named any suspects in the case. Earlier this year, however, they did identify David Earl Wilson, 49, as a person of interest. Authorities said he loosely fit the description of the home-invasion assailant.

Nineteen hours after Bullard's disappearance, Wilson committed suicide along a Harnett County road when sheriff's deputies tried to pull over his pickup during a traffic stop. Investigators said the two incidents occurred within six miles of each other.

The skeletal remains found Wednesday were discovered near property owned by Wilson's brother.

Wilson's relatives have said that circumstances surrounding Bullard's disappearance and Wilson's suicide were merely a coincidence and that they hope the latest developments in the case will clear Wilson's name.

  Copyright 2007 by WRAL.com and the Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 

[pdh3]

My heart goes out to her family. This is certainly not the outcome that anyone wanted, but now they know where she is. I hope that brings them some measure of comfort.
I also hope they can solve the question of who killed Michelle.

May She Rest in Peace.