Girl found dead at treatment facility, prompting investigation, NC officials say

A girl was found dead at a North Carolina treatment facility for juveniles, prompting an investigation into the circumstances, according to the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation.

The identity and age of the girl have not been released.

She was found Sunday, March 15, when police were called to Cornerstone Treatment Facility, a state “psychiatric residential treatment facility” for children, adolescents, and teens in Wadesboro.

“Upon arrival, officers located a deceased juvenile inside the facility,” Wadesboro police said in a news release.

A cause of death has not been released.

In addition to the SBI, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services is partnering in the investigation, officials said.

Cornerstone Treatment Facility was the subject of another investigation in January, when three juvenile females left without authorization, the police department reported. All three girls were found a day later “in various counties,” the police department said.

Wadesboro is about a 50-mile drive southeast from uptown Charlotte.

This story was originally published March 17, 2026 at 5:23 AM.