ONSLOW COUNTY, N.C. — Mariah Woods is believed dead, according to Onslow County Sheriff’s investigators.
Sheriff’s investigators, the FBI, and members of the eastern North Carolina community where she lived had been searching for the three-year-old girl ever since she was reported missing Monday.
The announcement that Woods was believed dead coincided with the arrest of 32-year-old Earl Kimrey.
Earl Kimrey
Kimrey is the boyfriend of Mariah’s mother.
He was charged with Concealing of Death, Obstruction of Justice, 2nd Degree Burglary, Felony Larceny, and Possession of Stolen Property.
He is being held in the Onslow County Detention Center under a $1,010,000 bond.
“Due to evidence gathered during the course of the investigation, it is believed that Mariah is deceased,” a sheriff’s spokesperson said. “At this time, the location of Mariah is unknown. The searches will now shift to a recovery process.”
An AMBER Alert was issued Monday for Mariah after he mother awoke to find the child missing. The toddler, investigators said, was last seen when her mother put to bed on Sunday night.
“Somebody just walks right in there, grabs a three-year-old out the bed, she didn’t cry, she didn’t scream?” Woods’ biological father Alex Woods said prior the arrest. “Nobody heard nothing? Four people in the house, two adults and two babies and somebody just comes, snatches the baby up and walks out?”
More than 200 investigators, agents, and other law enforcement worked to locate the missing child.
Anyone with information was asked to call 911 or Onslow County Sheriff’s Office at (910) 455-3113.
