LUMBERTON — A body found Tuesday off Wire Grass Road near Orrum has preliminarily been identified as that of Hania Aguilar, the 13-year-old girl whose disappearance on Nov. 5 has united the county in the hope that she would be returned safely.
Now law enforcement is saying they are more determined than ever to bring her killer to justice.
“The Lumberton Police Department and the FBI received notification late this afternoon from the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office that a body found yesterday is believed to be Hania Aguilar. A final confirmation will be done with an official dental record comparison,” an FBI news release reads in part.
Aguilar was kidnapped on Nov. 5, a Monday, by someone who shoved her into a vehicle as she waited for her ride to school.
“We are absolutely devastated. I wish we had a different outcome for Hania’s family, for the community, and for the hundreds of law enforcement officers and searchers who put everything they had into finding her alive,” Lumberton Police Chief Michael McNeill said Wednesday during a news conference.
The body was found in a body of water about 4:45 p.m. Tuesday by investigators from the FBI, Lumberton Police Department, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, and Robeson County Sheriff’s Office. Lawmen said it was not a pond, but pointed out it was also not water that resulted from rainfall.
Rumors spread rapidly on Facebook that the killer was in custody at the county jail, and The Robesonian received information that was the case as well.
But C. Andrew de la Rocha, FBI supervisory senior resident agent, said no.
“We do not have a person of interest in custody at this time,” he said.
In answer to a series of questions, the agent would not comment on whether or not a suspect is still is in the area, the body’s condition, or if investigators believe Aguilar was killed where she was found or dumped there. He also would not speculate on how long the body was in the water.
Leads gathered by investigators prompted a search of the area, according to McNeill and de la Rocha. The site where the body was found could not be seen from Wire Grass Road.
“We will not stop until we find the person or persons responsible and bring them to justice,” McNeill said. “We will not stop.”
Aguilar was kidnapped about 7 a.m. while she waited outside her home in Rosewood Mobile Home Park, located at 3525 Elizabethtown Road in Lumberton, for a ride to Lumberton Junior High School. A witness reported seeing a man dressed all in black and wearing a yellow bandana over his face force the teenager into an SUV and drive away. The SUV was found Nov. 8 off Quincey Road.
“Last night I had to stand in front of Hania’s mother and tell her what we had found,” de la Rocha said. “You can imagine what that was like for her.”
McNeill and de la Rocha asked people who live along Wire Grass Road to come forward if they have information, saw something or have surveillance video that might help investigators learn how the body came to be where it was found. Anyone with any information about the case or about the person or persons responsible is asked to call the dedicated tip line at 910-272-5871. A reward of up to $30,000 still is being offered.
“There is still information out there,” de la Rocha said.
McNeill and de la Rocha used the news conference to admonish members of the news media and users of social media to stop spreading false and misleading information. Such information causes pain for Aguilar’s family and is not helpful to the investigation.
“This is not about us today,” de la Rocha said. “It’s about Hania and her family.”
In response to a question, McNeill said Lumberton is a safe place in which to live, despite what happened to Aguilar. But, people still need to careful.
“Be as vigilant as you’ve always been,” he said. “Be aware of your surroundings.”
Facebook has been flooded since the kidnapping with people praying for her safe return. When news broke on Tuesday that the body likely was the missing girl’s, Facebook was inundated by people expressing their sympathy and their hopes that the killer is brought to justice.
