NC Wanted: Authorities continue search for 1980 Durham County murder suspect

Hunters found Darlene Tilly’s body 8 miles from her home in Durham after the search following her disappearance. Authorities said she had been stabbed and beaten to death.

“She’s gone to be with the lord,” said Tilly’s father, Donnie. “She’s been there a while. She’s much better off.”

Investigators say Tilly left a baseball field in Durham—her last known location prior to disappearing—and took a short cut through the woods on her way home.

“Her body was found in an area known as the flats, which runs off Oxford Highway, about 60 to 70 feet off the Oxford Highway near Technica Parkway,” said Major Paul Martin of the Durham County Sheriff’s Office.

Martin was not assigned to the original investigation in 1980, but he is now working on Tilly’s case.

“We’ve had a person come forward to describe what actions he performed with her as a 13-year-old,” he said. “He may have approached several very young girls in a sexually inappropriate manner.”

Martin said the person also had ties to the local church community and that he once had an altercation with Tilly at camp.