Ellison
LAUREL HILL — It’s been nearly a year since a body was found in a remote area of Laurel Hill and detectives with the Scotland County Sheriff’s Office are still looking for answers.
It was on Dec. 17, 2020, around 9:35 p.m. that deputies arrived on the scene at Cliff Gibson Road. Deputies located a four-door 2010 grey BMW on the side of the road.
Twenty-six-year-old Kierra Nakisha Ellison of Hoke County was found and deputies believed she had been shot in the vehicle.
According to Sgt. Detective Ronald Locklear, investigators believes that at least two other people had been in the vehicle before Ellison was killed.
“Where she and the car were found is a really remote and desolate area and it’s extremely dark at night,” Locklear said. “The nearest house was probably a half a mile away so it’s likely that no one in the area had even heard anything. But we’re hoping that someone has heard something just from people talking or knows something about what happened that night help us find the person or people who did this.”
Locklear added the Sheriff’s Office is still actively investigating the case and going after leads but none have brought up enough information to make an arrest in the case.
Ellison’s mother Tammy Ellison Baldwin remembers her daughter as someone who would was extremely caring for other people.
“She was a very giving and kind person,” Ellison Baldwin said. “We found out a lot about her since she’s been gone. We’ve had a lot of people come to us and tell us all the things that she’d done for them which we didn’t even know about. She was a hard worker and she would have given the last of what she had to help someone else.”
She hopes that more people will come forward with information to help solve her daughter’s case so that the family can get closure after months of not knowing.
“Anyone who has any information on what happened please come forward, Ellison Baldwin said. “I know my baby wasn’t perfect and it doesn’t matter now, we just want to get this case solved so that my baby can rest and we can have closure.”
Law enforcement hopes that with the Scotland Crimestoppers program beginning again it will encourage people to come forward.
Scotland Crimestoppers is a 100% anonymous program that allows residents to provide tips on crimes and wanted individuals. If tips lead to the arrest of someone the tipster can receive a payout, the line will be going live in the near future.
To leave a tip with Scotland Crimestoppers, call the tipline at 910-266-8149.
Reach Katelin Gandee at kgandee@laurinburgexch.wpenginepowered.com.