CLINTON – The Sampson County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday a significant development in a long-standing cold case involving unidentified human remains discovered in 1999. After years of meticulous investigation and the use of newly available resources, the remains have been successfully identified.
On July 20, 1999, Sampson County 911 received a call reporting the discovery of human remains in a wooded area on Easy Street in northern Sampson County. Deputies and investigators, along with support from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations, responded promptly to the scene and initiated a thorough investigation. Regrettably, the remains were in an advanced state of decomposition, impeding immediate identification efforts, and no forms of identification were found.
The unidentified remains were described as that of a Caucasian or Hispanic female, aged between 17 and 24 years, standing approximately 5′ 04″ to 5′ 07″ tall, and with long red hair. Investigators employed fingerprint and DNA analysis to determine the identity but encountered no positive matches. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children also extended their assistance in attempting to identify the remains.
Over the course of the past two decades, investigators pursued hundreds of leads, including comparing missing persons’ reports to the description of the unidentified remains. Unfortunately, all leads were found to be unrelated.
In June of 2021, a turning point was reached when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, reached out to the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office and apprised them of an available federal grant that could aid in analyzing the unidentified remains’ DNA through genealogy databases, with the aim of locating family members.
The Sampson County Sheriff’s Office contracted The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, who readily agreed to support the testing process. The Kin Finder Group was then entrusted with the analysis of genealogy information.
The crucial DNA analysis took place in August 2021, as hair samples were sent to Astrea Forensics where the DNA was extracted for entry into genealogy databases. In January 2022, the DNA samples were sent to The Kin Finder Group for inclusion in the genealogy databases, followed by successful submission to the FTDNA database in March 2022.
In June 2022, a significant lead emerged when the Sheriff’s Office received information from an individual who had come across an NCMEC Facebook post about the unidentified remains in Sampson County in 1999. The individual expressed the belief that the remains could belong to Victoria Dolores Mejia Paredes, known to have a daughter residing in California. Subsequent contact with Victoria’s daughter led to her willingly providing a DNA sample for kinship testing.
A week later, The Kin Finder Group shared information from FTDNA, indicating a link between the unidentified remains’ DNA and individuals with the surname Paredes. The Kin Finder Group added that the Paredes family originally hails from Honduras, with several members currently residing in the United States. The ethnic results from FTDNA further supported the possibility of
Hispanic/Honduran heritage, aligning with the information related to Victoria.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children assisted in coordinating with the San Jose Police Department to collect Victoria’s daughter’s DNA. In December 2022, the sample was submitted to FTDNA for comparison, and in January 2023, The Kin Finder Group received confirmation of a parent/child relationship between Victoria’s daughter and the unknown DNA.
In 1999, Victoria was 21 years old and living in Honduras with her family. She was in a relationship with Vayardo Meza, with whom she had a daughter. Vayardo resided with his family in Rose Hill, NC, and arranged for Victoria to join him in the United States. However, Victoria’s family lost contact with her after she left Honduras around Jan-Feb 1999. Vayardo eventually returned to Honduras around April 2000 and informed Victoria’s family that she had left him and not returned.
At no time was Victoria reported missing to law enforcement, which made solving this case even more difficult. Vayardo passed away in Honduras around 2000-2001. Throughout the investigation, interviews were conducted with Victoria’s family members and Vayardo’s family members.
“The Sampson County Sheriff’s Office extends its gratitude to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Astrea Forensics, The Kin Finder Group, and the San Jose Police Department for their invaluable contributions. This collaborative effort has brought the investigation closer to providing closure to the Paredes family. I would like to further thank my investigative staff and Captain Dixon for their unwavering efforts in this cold case,” said Sampson County Sheriff Jimmy Thornton.
The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information regarding Victoria Paredes or Vayardo Meza is urged to contact the investigators at the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office at 910-592-4141.
