Chapel Hill woman found dead near Catawba River

Mount Holly, N.C. — A Chapel Hill woman was found dead Monday on the banks of the Catawba River, police said.

Irina Sergeyevna Yarmolenko, 20, a student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, was found next to a blue Saturn at the edge of the river Monday afternoon, police said.

The car had traveled several yards down a steep embankment toward the river and had struck a stump at the water's edge, police said.

An autopsy will be performed on Yarmolenko's body to determine a cause of death.

She was last seen at about 9:45 a.m. Monday. Anyone with knowledge about her activities Monday is asked to call the Mount Holly Police Department at 704-827-4343.