Community shaken after missing woman found dead in south Charlotte townhome

CHARLOTTE — A woman whose body was found inside a south Charlotte home Sunday had been reported missing by her family, police said.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said they were investigating someone’s death around 1:30 p.m. Sunday at a townhome in south Charlotte. Officers were called to the 5500 block of Werburgh Street near Park Road at Tyvola Road. It’s in the Magnolia Park community.

On Tuesday, police said they were investigating the case as a homicide after they consulted with the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The next day, CMPD identified the victim as 32-year-old Whitney Elizabeth Hurd. According to CMPD, Hurd’s family had reported her missing to police on July 11.

Detectives asked for help Wednesday finding Hurd’s SUV. They described it as a white 2014 BMW X3 with North Carolina tag KJP-9368.

On Thursday around 10 a.m. —four days after Hurd was found dead — police confirmed they found the car and were processing it.

A community shaken

Hurd’s neighbors told Channel 9′s Erika Jackson they want answers.

“It’s crazy,” Hill Gage told Jackson. “I live on the street over with my wife. We never would’ve expected to be interviewed about a homicide investigation in SouthPark.”

Neighbors said their townhome were surrounded by police cars and yellow tape Sunday afternoon.

Mike Zeinemann lives two doors down from Hurd’s unit, where he said he saw police searching.

“It was a little bit of a concern, obviously, so close to home,” he said. “Not sure if someone broke in, or there wasn’t a lot of information that was being told that day.”

According to a missing persons report, a family member told police the last time they saw Hurd was at her home on July 4. They reported her missing a week later, on July 11.

It wasn’t until July 14 that detectives entered her home for the first time.

“Hearing it was a homicide and they don’t know who did it, it’s a little more concerning,” Gage said. “Kind of freaks you out a little bit.”

He said he and his wife are following the case closely.

“We just got a protect ourselves I guess, until we figure out what’s going on,” Gage said.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 704-432-TIPS, or Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

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