The Birmingham Police Department issued a missing person(s) report on Wednesday advising that Jermiera Ivory Fowler, age 31, went missing after she told her family she was meeting with someone to make a purchase from Facebook Marketplace.

On Thursday at approximately 9:00pm, police received a report of a body on fire in the area of Sellers Road – with the Jefferson County Coroner stating that the woman had been shot – prior to being placed on fire.

The Calhoun Journal spoke with a number of different law enforcement agencies in Calhoun County about this type of crime.

Although homicide does not happen all that often, robberies are very common with these types of transactions.  Each of the local law enforcement agencies have an area where citizens can meet with others to conduct these types of transactions. The police departments have cameras to monitor the area and some have full audio as well.

Each of the officials that we spoke with strongly recommended that anyone wishing to make a purchase from someone they’ve never met before should ONLY MEET WITH THEM in a SAFE environment such as the local police department.

If you request a meeting at such a location and the person is reluctant, that should cause you to become suspicious of their true intent. A legitimate seller should have no problem meeting at a police station to complete a sale.

Some of the chief’s also mentioned that many parents with shared custody utilize the safe transaction areas to complete the exchange of their children for visitation purposes. It doesn’t matter what type of legal interaction a person is going to be completing, the different agencies simply want the public to be safe at all times.

Below we have listed each police department and the Sheriff’s Office addresses for people to choose from. There are police agencies all throughout the county and you do not need to be a resident of a certain jurisdiction to utilize their safe transaction area:

Anniston Police Department

174 W 13th St

Anniston, AL 36201

Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office

400 W 8th St

Anniston, AL 36201

Jacksonville Police Department

911 Public Safety Dr SW

Jacksonville, Alabama 36265

Ohatchee Police Department

7801 AL-77

Ohatchee, AL 36271

Oxford Police Department

600 Stanley Merrill Dr

Oxford, AL 36203

Piedmont Police Department

121 W Ladiga St

Piedmont, AL 36272

Weaver Police Department

500 Anniston St

Weaver, AL 36277