Death of St. George woman a homicide, police say

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CEDAR CITY — Police are investigating the death of a missing St. George woman whose body was found last weekend in a remote area of southern Utah.

On Aug. 23, dispatchers received a call that a body had been located in western Iron County. Investigators determined the woman’s body “had been in the area for some time,” the Iron County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

After being transported to the Utah State Medical Examiner’s Office, the woman was identified as Stevie Shay Wilkerson, 26. She had been missing from St. George since Aug. 9.

Wilkerson had last been seen leaving the Claridge Inn, 1187 S. Bluff, according to St. George police.

Wilkerson’s cause of death has not been released, but it is being investigated by Iron County sheriff’s detectives as a homicide.

“Our thoughts are with the Wilkerson family at this time,” the statement said.

An Aug. 10 Facebook post from Vawna Wilkerson said she believed her daughter had been abducted and taken hostage by a man and woman “she accidentally crossed paths with” at the Red Roof Inn in St. George.

“Please help me find my beautiful baby girl. They are armed and have threatened to kill her, the post says.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 435-867-7500.

from Deseret News https://ift.tt/3js1j7W