Remains found in Catawba County identified as 23-year-old Winston-Salem woman missing for year

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP) — The remains of a 23-year-old Winston-Salem woman who had been missing for over a year were found in Catawba County on Tuesday, according to the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies say that the remains were found at a property on the 8000 block of East NC 150 on Tuesday and they found items connected to a missing Winston-Salem woman.

Eileen Michelle Lavery, 23, of Winston-Salem, had been missing since March 2023.

Investigators analyzed Lavery’s dental records in an autopsy on Thursday and they matched the remains found in Catawba County on Tuesday.

The cause and manner of Lavery’s death are still under investigation and investigators are trying to establish why she was at the property on NC 150 at the time of her death.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office at 828-465-8340.

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