Woman's body found near Fort Bragg identified

Fayetteville, N.C. — Fayetteville workers discovered a woman's body out in the open on Neptune Drive near Fort Bragg around 8 a.m. Friday, according to police.

The woman was identified Friday afternoon as 21-year-old Carrie Marie Welch of Rhew Street in Fayetteville, police said.

"We are definitely treating this as a homicide," police spokesman Dan Grubb said

Grubb said Welch was murdered sometime after midnight, but declined to say how it appeared the woman died.

Workers from Fayetteville's city-owned utility company, the Public Works Commission, found the body while doing work along an abandoned dirt road adjacent to where Interstate 295 is under construction at Bragg Boulevard.

They told police the woman's body was just off the road, in plain view.

People who work in the area say the abandoned road has been a magnet for unwanted visitors.

“It’s pretty much like a hot spot for the female prostitutes to bring their guys back here,” said David Leyhew, who works at a nearby auto parts store.

"I know the Public Works Commission has said they have had a problem with lots of cars that have been coming and going and loitering back here and things of that nature, so we're looking into that as well," Grubb said.

PWC workers declined to comment to WRAL News as they left the job site.

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While some people here entertain themselves with geographical flame wars, a woman is lying dead due to someone else's actions. Her famiy and friends can not replace her. Whatever contributions to the world she might have made are now completed.

It is my hope that she went quickly, without fear or pain, and that her loved ones take comfort in their memories and each other's company.

There have been some assumptions about the women who spend time in that area, and there's no telling at this point how she chose to spend her time and/or what her life required of her. That's not the point. A person is gone and we do not have a way of knowing how much we have all been impoverished by her passing.

anneonymousone
July 2, 2010 4:01 p.m.

Fayetteville sucks. Gov. Purdue needs to adopt a policy like the one in AZ, and build a wall around Fayetteville. After which the nuke plant in Wake County can ship its spent fuel rods to Fayetteville. Everyone wins. Energy costs go down and Fayetteville, the armpit of NC is obliterated.

On a serious note though; crime can and does happen all over the world. From Fayetteville to Cary, to the UNC campus, murder is not unique only to Fayetteville. However, for anyone to believe or insinuate that Fayetteville is a quaint town with plentiful amenities is woefully wrong. The city has a disproportionate homicide rate along with a disproportionately high persons and property crime rate. Fayetteville has a reputation for reason…good reason.

nccrew
July 2, 2010 3:58 p.m.

Obviously what i said has been misconstrued. It is unfortunate that, in areas of Fayetteville where there is a greater concentration of blacks and other minorities, there is a higher concentration of crime, blight, and economic dispair. Schools that now have a higher minority population than they did 20 years ago (I went to Ponderosa Elementary and Westover Junior/Senior High)now have some of the lowest test scores and graduation rates in the state. Why is there such disparity in the schools and neighborhodds if everyone is afforded the same opportunities, and educated by the same teachers? There is no logic, no reason for this, and I'm angered by it.

And for the record Shane, yes, of course there are much nicer areas in town. If I moved back, I'd build a house in Gates Four lickety-split. I speak out of disappointment, that the neighborhood I am proud I grew up in (New Ponderosa) now looks more like Bonnie Doone or University Estates.

realcloak
July 2, 2010 3:54 p.m.

Oh and for the record, I am currently in the outskirts of Fayetteville and although I do not reside any where near the places you refer to as "DUMPS"..I am more about uplifting people instead of degrading them.

shanequamanigault
July 2, 2010 3:33 p.m.

To realcloak: You're right..it is a doggone shame that people like you have such views that you do.Who are you to turn down your noses at any group of people regardless of their color. I'm not surprised that you are Black(or so you say)but I'm so surprised that instead of putting down people of this area you haven't exactly said what you would do to improve or volunteer time so that young BLACK males can turn out as well as yourself..What a great role model!!! Way to go...**sigh**

shanequamanigault
July 2, 2010 3:28 p.m.