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Authorities ID body found by inmate road crew

Durham County authorities on Thursday identified a body found Wednesday by inmates cleaning litter from the side of a road.

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Wanda Spence, found dead along Durham County road
DURHAM, N.C. — Durham County authorities on Thursday identified a body found Wednesday by inmates cleaning litter from the side of a road.

Wanda Rose Spence, 43, of Elmo Street, was last seen on June 22. Authorities used dental records to identify her body.

A group of state inmates was cleaning up roadside litter along Old Oxford Road about a mile north of Snow Hill Road when they spotted a large plastic bag and found human remains inside, authorities said.

The body appears to have been there for several days, said Lt. Stan Harris of the Durham County Sheriff's Office.

The cause of Spence's death wasn't released, but Harris said investigators are treating the case as a homicide.

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