ELIZABETHTOWN — A body was found this afternoon near where a woman who has been missing for almost two weeks was last seen, according to the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office.
Members of the Sheriff’s Office were conducting a waterborne search for Willie Jean Teal when the body was found, according to the BCSO. A positive identification of the body had not been made this afternoon and the cause of death was undetermined.
An autopsy will be performed by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Raleigh, according to the BCSO.
At 1:50 p.m. Feb. 12 Bladen County Communications received a call regarding a missing person, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The missing person was identified as 68-year-old Willie Jean Teal of 1795 River Road in White Oak. She is a white female with brown hair and brown eyes. It is not known what type of clothing she was wearing.
Several of Teal’s personal items were found by the Cape Fear River, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The Bladen County Sheriff’s Office and Bladen County Emergency Management searched the area of the Cape Fear River on Feb. 12. She was entered as a missing person in the national database.
Personnel with the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office and Bladen County Emergency Management, and volunteers returned on Feb. 14 to 1795 River Road in White Oak and conducted a ground search, and the search will continue, according to the BCSO.
Anyone with information about the disappearance of Willie Jean Teal is asked to contact the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office at 910-862-6960.