MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A vehicle belonging to a missing Memphis woman has been found.
Ashley McDonald was first reported missing in November. She was reportedly going to Batesville, Mississippi on Thanksgiving to meet a man.
Now, McDonald’s vehicle has been found in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi — nearly 100 miles away from her southeast Memphis home.
Deputies found the Ford Fusion belonging to McDonald between a shed and a trailer. The vehicle was discovered on Dec. 15 off Pamplin Road, southwest of Charleston, Mississippi. That’s 20 days after McDonald was reportedly going to meet an “unknown male” in Batesville.
Neighbors think that whoever put the car there, didn’t want it to be found.
Tallahatchie County Sheriff Jimmy Fly confirmed the vehicle belonging to the 27-year-old had indeed been found. He did not go into detail about how it was located or any evidence that would lead investigators to McDonald.
Unknown to Memphis Police, the car had been sitting at a local salvage yard since Dec. 15 because it wasn’t listed on a stolen vehicle database. The Sheriff said MPD learned the vehicle was in Tallahatchie County after receiving a report from the vehicle’s finance company.
In late January, investigators from MPD along with a crime scene Technician checked the wooded area and the vehicle for evidence.
Agents from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation are involved and that cadaver dogs searched the area where the car was found.
Neighbors in Tallahatchie said there was a clearly unusual and heavy law enforcement presence on this normally quiet part of the county.
Sheriff Fly said he hasn’t spoken with Ashley McDonald’s family.
WREG has reached out to the Memphis Police Department and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation for comments but have yet to hear back from them.
Anyone with any information should contact the Tallahatchie County Sheriff’s Office at (662) 647-3700 or the MPD’s Missing Persons Bureau at (901) 636-4479.