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Hope Mills police charge 2 people with murder in case of missing woman

Beverly Harris, 36, of Raeford, and Miguel Navarro, 33, of Hope Mills, were charged in the death of Rebecca Fellows.

Posted Updated

By
Gilbert Baez
, WRAL Fayetteville reporter
HOPE MILLS, N.C. — Hope Mills police have arrested two people on charges of murder in the case of a woman who's been missing since July.

Beverly Harris, 36, of Raeford, and Miguel Navarro, 33, of Hope Mills, were charged in the death of Rebecca Fellows.

The two suspects were being held in the Cumberland County Detention Center.

Police Chief Joel Acciardo said tips from the public and help from the State Bureau of Investigation and the Hoke County Sheriff's Office led them to the body believed to be that of the missing 40-year-old woman.

Acciardo said the body was found near the overpass of Wood Crossroads Road at Interstate 40 just about five miles east of Benson.

Fellows was last seen July 8 getting into a car on Legion Road near Manna Church. Investigators searched the wooded area by air and foot but found nothing.

Fellows’ mother lives in Tennessee. She said the last time she saw her daughter was in May.

"Basically she was a good woman. She tried hard. She worked hard all her life. She loved her kids. She loves her family," said Dixie Kruger, Fellows’ mother.

Hope Mills police and the SBI had been collecting evidence and following leads since Fellows disappeared. They put fliers out with her picture and two vehicles of interest.

Hope Mills Police and the State Bureau of Investigation have been collecting evidence and following leads since Rebecca Fellows disappeared on July 8.

Investigators said Fellows also goes by the name of Rebecca Garcia-James.

The suspects made their first court appearance and remain locked up without bond. Details about how they were linked to Fellows haven’t been released.

While the arrest brings some closure to the family, there are still many unanswered questions.

"I would like to know how this happened and why," said Kruger.

Fellows leaves behind five children and two grandchildren, with another grandchild on the way.

Acciardo is waiting on the State Medical Examiner to confirm the remains they found are that of the missing woman.​​

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