Body Of Missing Teacher's Assistant Found In Rural Orange County

Person County woman

who has been missing for several weeks.

Investigators say they believe they found the body of Carolyn Johnson and the van she was driving in a wooded area along Route 1507, north of Hillsborough late Sunday.

Andrew Wade, who lives along the road where Johnson's car was found, noticed the vehicle on Sunday -- 25 days after her disappearance.

"As I turned in my driveway I saw something down there in the woods. I thought it was a tent. So I parked my car and walked down to the edge and found out it was a car," he says.

Wade says that he and a neighbor walked down to the site and saw the vehicle with a body inside.

Investigators say that it appears Johnson drove her van off the road while she was on her way to work. Investigators say that there were no signs of foul play, but Johnson's parents believe she may have suffered a seizure while driving.

Johnson, a teacher's assistant with Durham Public Schools, was reported missing on Sept. 5. That day she left her Person County home for Watts Elementary School, but never arrived.

Johnson is survived by her nine-year-old son.