A North Carolina sheriff refuses to say whether his firing a detective is tied to the disappearance of the woman’s 18-year-old stepdaughter nearly two months ago.
Multiple media organizations reported Robeson County Sheriff Kenneth Sealey says sharing details of the missing-person case could harm the search for Sara Graham of Fairmont.
Sealey fired Connie Graham from her job as a juvenile division detective effective last week after 23 years with the agency. Her husband, Hubert Graham, also works for the sheriff’s office but his employment hasn’t changed.
Sara Graham vanished nearly 2 months ago on Feb. 4 after leaving her family’s Fairmont home to drive to her job at Walmart in Pembroke.
Several searches have been conducted — including at least one with about 200 volunteers. But, she still remains missing after her van was found abandoned in a field, officials say.
A little over 2 weeks ago, the FBI became involved in the effort to find Sara, who is the daughter of Deputy Hubert Graham, a 16 year veteran of the sheriff’s department.
Officials in the Charlotte FBI office announced that they were assisting.
Meanwhile, Sheriff Kenneth Sealey said detectives are still actively on the case, chasing down any information about Sara.
Graham left home from the 4000 block of Centerville Church Road to drive to work on Feb. 4 at 6:30 am.
However, Graham did not show up for work, which she should have by 7 am.
Around 12:15 pm, deputies received a phone call about a suspicious vehicle, Sealey said.
Deputies responded and found a car, the tag information was checked and it came back as her family’s vehicle — the car Graham had used to leave for work.
The car was found empty, parked in a wheat field on the edge of a forest along East McDonald Road between Chicken Road and Centerville Church Road, Sealey said.
Anyone with information that could help locate Sara should call FBI Charlotte at 704-672-6100 or the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office at 910-671-3100.
