ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) – The body of a young woman missing from the Williamsburg area was found in a remote area of Windsor on Friday, the Isle of Wight County Sheriff’s Office said.
The sheriff’s office told 10 On Your Side they are investigating her death as suspicious.
On Friday, family members reported 18-year-old Aonesty Selby missing. Her family said they had not heard from her since Wednesday.
“She was there and then she was gone. I didn’t understand what was happening,” said her aunt Ebony Selby.
On Wednesday, Ebony said Aonesty told her she was planning to come to visit her on the Outer Banks.
The Isle of Wight County Sheriff’s Office said they received a report around 9:30 p.m. Friday. Deputies found a deceased woman on a dirt path in a remote area off Blue Ridge Trail.
She was identified as Aonesty.
James City County Assistant Police Chief Monique Myers said one of its officers received information about Aonesty’s last location from a family member Friday evening.
Myers said that officer then reviewed information that was sent to determine where the location was, and the officer contacted the Windsor Police Department and asked for them to check that particular area.
Due to her age, Aonesty was listed as a runaway, however, Myers said James City County Police officers were actively following up on information provided to them.
Myers referred further questions to the Isle of Wight County Sheriff’s Office, as it is conducting the investigation.
Her aunt told 10 On Your Side she and other family members found Aonesty.
“A friend reached out. There was a ping from her phone. We got the coordinates. We went there. It was to a hunting club … we walked two miles down this dark, dirt, muddy road,” Ebony said.
It was down the dark dirt road that Ebony made a discovery no one wants to make.
The Isle of Wight County Sheriff’s Office said they could not comment on what her aunt told 10 On Your Side, including that a phone was near Aonesty’s body.
Spokesperson Tommy Potter said that the sheriff’s office is trying to create a timeline of her movements. He said they needed to find out where Aonesty was between 2 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 11.
“We know on the 11th she left Williamsburg. She went somewhere in Newport News. She was in Newport News on the afternoon of the 11th. We know roughly around 8:30 to 8:40 in the evening on the 11th was the last known communications with an individual,” Potter said.
He said investigators are looking through leads and he hopes anyone with information will reach out.
“No promising young 18-year-old needs to meet that demise. They should be celebrating their 18th birthday looking forward to what their life is as a young adult,” he said. “If there are people who have, we want them to reach out to the local Crime Line.”
Anyone with information on Selby’s whereabouts between Wednesday and Friday are asked to call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP or use the P3Tips app.
Aonesty’s body was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Norfolk for an autopsy. Potter said the autopsy report should be finished soon.
A family member of Aonesty has organized a GoFundMe to help raise money for her funeral expenses. To donate, CLICK HERE.