Investigators search for driver accused of hitting, killing teen in Wadesboro

WADESBORO, N.C. — The body of a teenager found along the side of the road in Wadesboro has been identified as a missing 17-year-old, police said. They believe the teen was hit by a car.

The Wadesboro Police Department said Anthony Valladares was reported missing on July 23. Three days later, officers found a body along the side of Highway 52 South near Old Lilesville Road.

At first, investigators could not identify the teen, but they discovered he had been hit by a car and turned the investigation over to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.

On Sunday, troopers informed the police department of Valladares’ identity.

Authorities haven’t shared a description of the car involved or said whether they have any leads, but the police chief asked for prayers for the friends and family of Anthony Valladares.

>> Valladares’ family is raising money to bury him. Click here to donate.

“He was energetic, he was always happy, he was always playing around with his brother. They were inseparable,” said Fabiola Salgado, the victim’s cousin.

Steve Lear said Valladares’ family lived across the street from his store, not far from where the teen was hit.

“I can’t imagine the pain this family is going through,” he said.

“I was sad ‘cause they’re good neighbors, good people,” said neighbor Maggie Powell. “They’re new to the country. They’ve not been here a lot. The father said he left to get a better life for their children and now this has happened.”

Family members are asking anyone who can help put the pieces together to come forward.

“I feel like, if it was one of your family members, you would want people to come and speak up,” Salgado said. “Tell us if you seen someone driving a car, someone that hit him, or, I don’t know, any little detail that they may think is not important is important.”

Channel 9′s Tina Terry learned Valladares lived with his dad and brother and they’d just moved to Wadesboro five months ago.

Wadesboro police asked anyone with information that could lead to the arrest of those responsible for Valladares’ death to call the North Carolina State Highway Patrol by calling *47 from a mobile phone.

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