Police believe they have found the remains of a North Carolina mother who was last seen in August 2012.
Crystal Morrison, of Concord, was 31 years old when she vanished after work at a recruiting firm in Concord.
Police said skeletal remains were found by a survey crew working in a wooded area near the intersection of Davidson Highway (N.C. Highway 73) and Winecoff School Road.
Authorities said they believe the remains to be Morrison, but forensic testing is needed because of the extreme amount of decomposition.
Morrison had left work early on Aug. 24, 2012, because she wasn’t feeling well. She had called a friend to pick her up at a gas station near her workplace, but when that friend arrived she was nowhere in sight.
Investigators searched for weeks but there was no information about what happened to Morrison.
Throughout the investigation, Morrison’s family hired a private investigator and, along with the Center for Missing Persons, offered a $25,000 cash reward for information that could help find her.
“I’ve cried and I’m shaky and my head is everywhere,” friend Lacey Castro said.
Castro said she's still not sure what to think now that the remains of her best friend were found less than a mile from where she vanished.
“On one side, I’m grateful that she isn't suffering. But on the other hand, how did she get to where she was and why?”
It's just one of countless questions she and Morrison’s family now face.
“I won't believe Crystal just walked down the road and took a detour down a trail in the woods. It's just not gonna happen,” Castro said.
The facts surrounding her friend's disappearance are few.
Castro said the last images of Morrison were captured at the Shell gas station on Davidson Highway, where she bought a drink and walked out the door.
“I knew she didn't harm herself. I knew she didn't get in a car with a stranger without a doubt,” Castro said.
But she does think someone knows something.
“I hope they find their soul or their heart or guilt eats away at them until they do the right thing,” Castro said.
She said it's time she and Morrison's loved ones take hold of the one piece of closure they do have.
“I just wanted to say thank you to the people that found her that took the time to make the call and did the right thing, because without them, we still wouldn’t know,” Castro said.
Police have not said what caused her death but will continue to investigate the circumstances of her disappearance.
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