Body found in woods identified as North Carolina woman missing since June, police say

Kiara Wiggins, a 39-year-old Roseboro woman who was reported missing in early June, was found dead in the woods off Boykin Bridge Road Monday, the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to McClatchy News.

The State Medical Examiner is now working to determine how Wiggins died. No charges have yet been filed in relation to her death.

In late June, authorities thought they found a potential lead in her disappearance when Wiggins’ husband, 49-year-old Carl Wiggins, was arrested after a high-speed chase along Interstate 40 West on June 23.

But there turned out to be no connection between Carl Wiggins’ arrest and Kiara Wiggins’ death, the sheriff’s office said.

Police said the husband, who was wanted for questioning in his wife’s disappearance, stole a black 2003 Ford Excursion in Bladen County the week before the arrest, according to ABC11. That appeared to be the same vehicle officials chased along I-40.

Kiara Wiggins’ relatives last saw her on June 9 and officially reported her missing on June 18, according to the sheriff’s office.

The high-speed chase with Kiara Wiggins’ husband began in Four Oaks late June after officers recognized the car and attempted to stop Carl Wiggins, Sgt. Marcus Bethea, a spokesman for the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, told the News & Observer.

The driver then proceeded to flee on U.S. 301, then continued down U.S. 701 to Newton Grove, authorities say. He made it all the way from N.C. 50 to I-40 West, where the chase continued until the car was stopped by spike strips near mile marker 330. He was later captured in woods by the highway after fleeing on foot.