North Carolina Woman Who Investigators Believe Was Abducted From Her Home Has Been Found Dead, and a Registered Sex Offender

A North Carolina woman who investigators believe was abducted from her home has been found dead, and a registered sex offender has been charged with her kidnapping and murder. Robin M. Doyle, 58, of Hickory, was reported missing after a family member last saw her Monday. Authorities believe she was taken from her home the next day after her father, with whom she lived, woke up to find her missing, her car still in the driveway and the back door left open, according to WSOC.

Doyle’s body was found Friday afternoon in a wooded area in northwestern Catawba County, the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office said. The agency said it was not releasing the cause of death as of Friday afternoon, but the manner of death is suspected to be homicide. Investigators identified Leroy Allen Loper, 54, a registered sex offender, as a person of interest in Doyle’s disappearance.

Loper was arrested Wednesday in Surry County, about 60 miles from Doyle’s home, on unrelated sex offender registry violations. Doyle was not found at the location where Loper was taken into custody, officials said. Following the discovery of her body, Loper was charged with felony murder, first-degree kidnapping and concealment of death, the sheriff’s office announced Friday night.

Evidence gathered during the investigation — including a bra found near her home and zip ties in her yard that matched ones found in Loper’s car — suggests Doyle was taken against her will. Surveillance footage and witness reports also showed a red vehicle speeding away from Doyle’s neighborhood, leading authorities to Loper’s 2015 red Kia Optima.