Sara Nicole Graham was 18 years old when she went missing from Robeson County, North Carolina, more than five years ago, and despite the efforts of local authorities, her whereabouts are still unknown.
Graham was born on April 1, 1996, and she was reportedly a member of the Lumbee tribe. She had been living in Temple, Texas, before deciding to move in with her father, a 16-year-old veteran with the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office, and her stepmother on Centerville Church Road in the Fairmont community.
She began working at a Walmart store in Pembroke as a cashier and a door greeter.
On Feb. 4, 2015, Graham was scheduled to work at 7 a.m.; therefore, she left her home about 30 minutes before her shift started.
Graham drove her white van, a Chevrolet Astro, that was registered to her father.
Later that afternoon, that same van was found abandoned in a wheat field on East McDonald Road with its doors locked.
There was no sign of Graham, and according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, she never made it to work that day, which led to her father filing a missing persons report.
Around 50 officers began searching for the Graham and trying to find anyone who may have seen or spoken to her before she vanished.
Investigators believe that Graham disappeared between 6:30 a.m. and 7 a.m., as they were receiving calls about the van as early as 6:45 a.m.
In March 2015, the Charlotte division of the FBI joined the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office with the investigation, but they aren’t releasing many details.
In a statement, Sheriff Ken Sealey announced that he wanted the public to understand that if they were to share every detail of the case, it could be detrimental to their investigation.
He added that detectives with the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office as well as the FBI are working diligently to find out what happened to Graham.
On the afternoon of Dec. 11, 2018, a surveying crew discovered skeletal remains in the 1200 block of Heritage Drive near CSX railroad tracks. It was around 30 miles from where Graham’s van was found.
Investigators believe that the remains could be those of Graham because she wore braces, and the remains that were found were also with braces.
Her dental records were sent to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Raleigh.
Sheriff Burnis Wilkins stated that he doesn’t know when the skeletal remains will be identified.
In the meantime, the search for Graham continues.
Graham, a native American, had brown eyes and dark brown hair. She was also five-foot-four and weighed around 160 pounds when she disappeared.
She was last seen with short hair, wearing glasses, and a blue Walmart store vest.
The FBI is offering a $5,000 reward for information that would lead to Graham’s location.
Anyone with information regarding the disappearance of Sara Nicole Graham is urged to contact the FBI at (704) 672-6100 or the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office at (910) 671-3100.