Body Of Kidnapped 13-Year-Old NC Girl Found, FBI Confirms

ROBESON COUNTY, NC — Searchers following leads in the case of a missing 13-year-old girl who was kidnapped from her front yard more than three weeks ago discovered a body Tuesday afternoon, the Federal Bureau of Investigation Charlotte field office said.

Wednesday, authorities confirmed the body was that of Hania Noelia Aguilar.

An Amber Alert was issued for Aguilar, 13, on the morning of Nov. 5 after investigators say she was abducted from the Rosewood Mobile Home Park in Lumberton by a man who forced her into a stolen 2002 Ford Expedition.

Tuesday afternoon, searchers who were following leads in the investigation when they discovered a body in an area near Wire Grass Road in Robeson County shortly before 5 p.m., FBI Charlotte field office said. The agency said at the time confirmation of the body’s identity had not yet been made.

“Out of an abundance of caution, investigators have notified Hania's family, but again no confirmation has been made of the identify of the body found,” Lumberton Police Department said in a statement Tuesday evening.

The body was taken to the state crime lab in Raleigh, the Charlotte Observer reported. Lumberton Police Chief Michael McNeil told reporters Wednesday that searchers located Hania’s body “in a body of water,” that was not obvious or visible from the road.

Investigators received nearly 800 leads in the case and conducted at least 400 interviews, the newspaper reported. A $30,000 reward for information in the case was also offered.

According to authorities, the abductor was wearing a yellow bandana around his face and was driving a green 2002 Ford Expedition with SC tags NWS984, peeling hood paint and a Clemson sticker in the back window. Several days later, the vehicle was located in Lumberton.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Lumberton Police Department at 910-671-3845, or 911.

RELATED:

• Amber Alert: 13-Year-Old North Carolina Girl Kidnapped From Home
• $20K Reward Offered In Case Of Kidnapped NC Teen

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Photos courtesy of Lumberton Police Department