North Carolina : Sara Graham

Jun 10

Fairmont, North Carolina, a small town in Robeson County, sits in the state's southern section, approximately 45 miles south of Lafayette. It was founded in 1899 and originally named Ashpole. They were later renamed to honor local landowner John A. Fairley. The town became a significant tobacco market in the early 20th century, contributing greatly to the region's economy. Today, Fairmont is known for its annual Farmers Festival, with a population of around 2,500 residents. The town faces challenges with crime, reporting a crime rate higher than the national average, particularly in property crimes. Crimegrade.org gives Fairmont a D- and it sits in the 13th percentile. Meaning 87% of cities are safer than Fairmont. We are navigating advocacy here because the chance of becoming a victim of a violent crime is as high as 1 in 134 in the northern neighborhoods.

Sara Nicole Graham was born on April 1, 1996, in the Lone Star State, a member of the Lumbee tribe. Although her family did not live in Lumbee territory, it was still a part of her history. Sara and her little brother lived with their mother when her parents separated when she was a young child. They had limited contact with her father, Hubert, and his side of the family until after she turned 18.

Sara’s father remarried, and he and his new wife, Connie, gave Sara a stepbrother.

In September 2014, shortly after graduating high school, Sara moved to North Carolina to live with her dad and stepmother. Friends told The Red Justice Project that Sara was shy until you got to know her, but the sweetest person. The new friends she was making said she was happy and kind. Sara took a job at Walmart in Pembroke, about 16 miles north of Fairmont. Her father worked as a sheriff’s sergeant in Robeson County, and Connie was also a deputy in the same office.

On the morning of February 4, Sara left her house at 6:30 am, driving to Pembroke for work, a 20-minute drive. However, she did not show up for her 7:00 am shift at Walmart that morning.

That same day at 12:15 pm, someone reported a suspicious white Chevy Astro van was parked in a wheat field on East McDonald Road near Chicken Road in Fairmont. Upon arrival, police found the van locked and discovered it was registered to Sara's father, Hubert. This is an older model van that did not have a keyless entry fob. To lock the door, you could either push the lock button down on the inside of the door or use the key to manually lock the door from the outside after you shut the door.

This wheat field is roughly six miles from Sara's house. There were no signs of a struggle, and the vehicle appeared to have been deliberately parked and locked.

An investigation immediately ensued after learning Sara did not make it to work that morning and connecting it with the abandoned van. Fifty officers from various law enforcement agencies, including county sheriffs, Fayetteville police, K-9 officers, and the FBI, searched the area. An NC State Highway Patrol helicopter also searched a nearby wooded area.

Witnesses who saw the van did not see Sara in or around it, and there was no damage to the van or signs of a struggle.

Of course, the first question asked was whether Sara would have run away. Hubert was understandably upset, but he emphasized that there was no reason to believe Sara would run away. There had been no trouble between Sara and her father or stepmother, and everything was going well. Sara’s great uncle, Jose Armenta, reportedly said that Sara was friendly and social, making her disappearance highly out of character. A command post was quickly set up, and the search for Sara continued with multiple agencies scouring fields and wooded areas around Robeson County, but there were no signs of Sara.

Hubert expressed his distress to WMBF the following day, describing his emotional turmoil and the shock of Sara’s sudden disappearance. He had distanced himself from the investigation, recognizing that he wouldn’t be able to control his emotions. Hubert said he didn't care where Sara was or who she was with; he just wanted to hear that she was okay.

A week passed and over 140 volunteers searched the area between her house and the Walmart where she worked but found no new information. Her cell phone records and computer were examined without yielding any leads, and interviews with family members did not reveal her whereabouts.

In March 2015, the FBI officially joined the investigation and circulated a missing person poster. Reports of sightings came in from several states, but none were confirmed. In late March, Sara’s stepmother, Connie, was fired from her position as a sheriff’s deputy, though the Sheriff stated it was a personnel matter and did not elaborate further. A WRAL article suggested Connie was considered a suspect, but as no arrests were made, it appeared to be a false tip. Eventually, Sara’s father left the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office and began working at another police station in North Carolina.

On February 3, 2016, one year after Sara’s disappearance, the FBI and the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office announced a $5,000 reward for information about her disappearance. They sought to establish a timeline of the van’s travel route and believed Sara went missing within a 15-minute window after leaving her house. Witnesses remembered seeing the van in the field at 6:45 am.

It was presumed that Sara was a victim of foul play, but there were no persons of interest at that time. Hubert continued to hope for news about Sara, emphasizing that he just wanted to hear she was safe. As time continued to pass, Hubert became more and more concerned. He told WMBF News, "I'm still sitting, waiting by the phone. Like, when you get phone calls from strange numbers, you answer it, and I'm expecting to hear someone say, 'Sara's here,' or it is Sara and say she's alright."

On December 13, 2018, skeletal remains with braces were found near train tracks approximately 11 miles away in Lumberton. It was a promising lead as Sara had braces when she disappeared, but it would later be confirmed via dental records that the remains were identified to belong to another.

In February 2022, the FBI released a podcast episode about Sara’s disappearance. The episode discussed how the investigators had followed hundreds of leads and felt that all of the information gathered pointed to Sara not leaving on her own. She had a job and was a reliable employee. However, the episode revealed that someone close to her might be withholding information. Hubert expressed frustration with the lack of communication from law enforcement but remained hopeful that Sara was still alive. He felt that detectives weren’t sharing as much information as they could.

On June 8, 2023, FBI agents and the North Carolina Troopers Association K-9 unit conducted a new search for Sara, though details were not disclosed. On June 13, 2023, the FBI and the Sheriff’s Office searched Sara’s house under a court order, investigating whether Sara had actually left her house on the morning of her disappearance. The Sheriff reiterated their commitment to finding Sara and bringing justice, urging anyone with information to come forward. They are still following every lead that comes in.

A $5,000 reward remains available for information leading to Sara Graham's whereabouts. Sara is an Indigenous woman who is described as approximately 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 160 pounds. She has short, dark brown hair, brown eyes, and glasses. She was last seen wearing her blue Walmart employee vest at the time of her disappearance.

Anyone with information about Sara's disappearance is urged to contact the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office at 910-671-3100, the FBI Charlotte Office at 704-671-6100, or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.

Sources:

True CrimeTrue Crime PodcastPodcastTrue Crime CommunityUnsolvedUnresolvedUnsolved MysteryCold CaseTrue Crime JunkieUnsolved MurderMissingSara GrahamNorth Carolina

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