‘Do it the right way.’ NC woman missing 4 weeks. Police respond to plea for urgency.
Missing for nearly four weeks in North Carolina, Allisha Watts’ disappearance has garnered national attention and left loved ones questioning detectives’ urgency and transparency.
The noise can be distracting, said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Capt. Joel McNelly during an interview this week.
He encouraged loved ones to continue their efforts to share photos of the missing 39-year-old woman who reportedly lives in Moore County and frequents Charlotte.
Hang it up, post it, he said.
“When it comes to actually doing work, please let law enforcement do that,” McNelly said. “... We need to make sure that those things are handled properly, that evidence isn’t tainted.”
For example, McNelly offered, if people come across potential evidence in a wooded area, they should wait for police to collect it. Otherwise, any traces of DNA become harder to detect.
When asked if he offered the advice because of already-tainted evidence in the case, he declined to explain.
“The most important thing, number one, is that we find Allisha,” he said. “Number two is that we do it the right way.”
Watts’ car — with her boyfriend in it — was found July 18, two days after she was last seen, according to police statements and information in warrants. The car was discovered around 50 miles from a home in the College Downs/University City area of Charlotte, where Watts was seen leaving July 16.
Her family reported her missing on July 19, according to media reports. CMPD first asked for the public’s help to find Watts on July 24.
Allisha Watts’ disappearance
Watts was last seen driving away with her boyfriend, family told WSOC, The Charlotte Observer’s news partner.
The couple was leaving his home on Pamela Lorraine Drive in Charlotte on July 16, family said.
On July 18, police found her black Mercedes Benz at the DMV in Anson County. Her boyfriend was inside, unconscious, according to search warrants.
Search warrants said he attempted suicide, WBTV reported.
McNelly said officers have not been able to interview Watts’ boyfriend since he went to the hospital. He declined to comment on the nature of his injuries.
But they have searched his home. Outside, police found shell casings from a 9mm gun, according to WSOC, citing search warrant records.
State of Virginia records obtained by WRAL revealed that the boyfriend had a history of domestic violence, with convictions for abduction, stalking, and assault and battery. WRAL reported that Durham County court records showed a previous partner of his requested a protective order against him in May.
While he is not a suspect in the missing person case, he is a person of interest — as is everyone who had contact with Watts before her disappearance, McNelly told the Observer during an interview on Aug. 9.
Since Watts’ disappearance, family and friends have held vigils and pushed CMPD asking for answers.
“These are very difficult times for Black Women,” wrote Minister Dearest Price, the Racial Justice Network’s North Carolina’s Regional Director, in a statement. “And although we are the largest growing group of entrepreneurs and individuals awarded degrees, we also hold the statistic of being the highest group facing trafficking and abduction.”
The Black and Missing Foundation’s database has nearly 6,000 cases of missing Black people, CNN reported. Many are unsolved, and Black families say police often don’t take their missing person cases seriously, unlike cases involving White women and children.
McNelly said police have been in near daily contact with one designated family member, which is typical for law enforcement working such cases. That one person should be the point of contact for any other loved ones looking for information, he said.
“While I know that can be frustrating, every minute that we’re talking to one of those people, and not the family, is a minute that we can’t be looking for Allisha.”
This story was originally published August 11, 2023 at 5:09 PM.
